The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported that on 21 October 2026 Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Latvia signed a tripartite memorandum of cooperation on verifying the origin of grain.
The document provides for the implementation of the Grain Verification Scheme (GVS) — a grain verification system that will use scientific methods to establish the geographic origin of agricultural products. The verification will cover four crops: wheat, maize, barley and sunflower seed.
The GVS will be based on isotopic and chemical analysis, the results of which will be compared with a reference database of verified samples. This will make it possible to identify regional characteristics of produce and to obtain scientifically grounded evidence of possible illegal origin.
The memorandum also foresees granting authorised bodies access to the GVS system, the exchange of scientific data and the coordination of specialised laboratories. The countries will appoint responsible representatives, hold regular technical consultations and coordinate actions in cases where suspicious consignments of agricultural products are detected.
According to Taras Vysotskyi, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the main objective of the cooperation is to prevent stolen Ukrainian agricultural produce from being sold on world markets as goods of lawful origin. The use of scientific verification methods is intended to strengthen the evidential basis for detecting illegal supplies.
The document notes that the system may be of particular importance for monitoring grain flows transiting through Baltic ports. The introduction of the GVS mechanism will create additional tools for detecting produce from temporarily occupied territories and for increasing transparency in international trade in grain and oilseed crops.
