Smaller stores selling local and biological produce are becoming increasingly common in Latvia. For example, the DB Daba store in Jelgava has been in business for five years, but the owners had to abandon their concept of selling Latvian products exclusively. As of now, local products make up about 60% of the offering in the store.
Renāte Klīve, manager of the DB Daba (DB Nature) store, said that the biggest problem is getting the local products to the store. There are also problems with products that spoil quickly, as it's hard to sell them all before time runs out.
The Jelgavas augļi (Fruits of Jelgava) store sells about 20% of locally-grown products, and owner Igors Sidoriščins said that "There are not enough farmers and farms in Latvia to grow as much as Latvians eat, and that's why importing the products from other countries cannot be avoided."
As healthy food is becoming more and more popular, stores like these pop up to meet the demand.
The Zaļā Zeme (Green Earth) store, which opened a few days ago, sells only local products, with about 10 to 20% being organically grown. The owners plan on obtaining a certificate for selling biologically grown products. However, once it happens, it'll be impossible to sell only local food.
