Lithuania Rejects 27 Tonnes of Radioactive Belarusian Berries and Mushrooms

Lithuanian border authorities turned back 27.1 tonnes of blueberries and chanterelle mushrooms from Belarus after detecting radioactive caesium-137.

On 3 November, a shipment of 20 tonnes of blueberries was refused entry at the Šalčininkai border crossing. On 31 October, another 7.13 tonnes of chanterelles had been turned back at Medininkai. Both shipments were returned to Belarus.

In both cases, the trucks had Lithuanian-registered tractor units and Estonian-registered semi-trailers. The final destinations and intended buyers of the shipments were not disclosed.

Belarus remains a major supplier of wild mushrooms to the European market. According to Eurostat COMEXT data compiled by The Trade Hub, Belarus accounted for 43.4% of the EU’s chanterelle imports from non-EU countries by value between January 2022 and March 2026.

Lithuania also imports berries directly from Belarus. In 2025, it purchased 62.79 tonnes of fresh berries in the cranberry and bilberry trade category, worth approximately $79,400, according to UN Comtrade data.

Importantly, some mushrooms and berries were excluded from Lithuania’s 2024 ban on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products. The Lithuanian government justified these exemptions by the lack of alternative suppliers and the potential impact on domestic food processors.

Sources: Lithuanian State Border Guard Service — blueberries; Lithuanian State Border Guard Service — chanterelles; Eurostat COMEXT / The Trade Hub; UN Comtrade / World Bank WITS; Government of Lithuania.