Latvia's harbor sector is pointing its compass westward. From 3 to 6 November, representatives of Latvian ports and companies will travel to Dunkirk, France, on a trade mission organized by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). The agenda is unambiguous: develop cooperation and come home with new investment and business partners.
For a small trading nation on the Baltic, ports are more than infrastructure — they are the arteries of the economy. The choice of Dunkirk, a French port city with serious maritime pedigree of its own, signals an ambition to build commercial bridges well beyond the Baltic rim. For Latvian operators, landing French capital or business ties would mean new alliances inside one of the EU's largest economies.
Back home, meanwhile, the vehicle trade tells a more familiar story. The picture presented by SEB banka's specialists shows a Latvian market still dominated by used diesel cars — and a striking concentration at the top: half of all imported cars come from just four brands, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volvo. Latvia's import pipeline, in other words, is premium, second-hand and diesel-fired.
The retail sector adds an intriguing counterpoint. Newly released figures show retail trade up on the year, with food volumes rising 0.3 percent and non-food products — excluding automotive fuel — jumping a robust 9.3 percent. Automotive fuel, however, moved against the tide, falling 0.8 percent. Consumers are spending confidently even as they pump less fuel — a quiet signal worth watching in a market where diesel still rules the road.
