🚛 Freight queues to grow as Lithuania closes Belarus border
After Lithuania shut its last two border crossings with Belarus, Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) warns of a sharp rise in truck congestion at Pāternieki and other checkpoints. The agency notes that throughput cannot be increased — customs checks take time, and smuggling and sanctions risks require tighter control. Waiting times for both exit and entry are expected to rise substantially in coming weeks.
Context: The closure diverts Baltic freight flows northward, putting extra strain on Latvia’s logistics network. With around 1 500 trucks stranded in Belarus, according to Lithuanian transport groups, the bottleneck could disrupt supply chains and raise transport costs across the region. It’s also another reminder that security policy decisions now directly reshape the Baltic economies’ everyday logistics.