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According to the ministry, a survey of Lithuanian companies showed that high-tech, agriculture and food processing, wood, textile and logistics companies have ties with China.
“In most cases, companies report that existing partners in China do not renew or enter into new contracts. Therefore, the ministry has taken steps to help companies find new export and import markets and solve other problems. caused by unprecedented and illegal Chinese actions, hitherto publicly negative against Lithuanian companies, ”the ministry said in a comment submitted to BNS on Thursday.
According to her, cooperation with partners, mainly in the United States and the European Union, aims to create instruments to prevent autocratic regimes from using economic pressure for political purposes.
The newly formed Democratic faction of the Seimas “On behalf of Lithuania” announced on Thursday that Deputy Foreign Minister Egidijus Meilūnas said in a meeting with its members that the ministry had received requests from eight Lithuanian companies to help them due to deteriorating trade relations. with China. .
Some companies are stuck in the supply of raw materials.
Ričardas Sartatavičius, director of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, says that grain-processing companies are already experiencing problems with the supply of raw materials from China, and logging companies are facing similar challenges.
“There is a problem with the supply of raw materials in the cereal sector, its sales to China in 2020 amounted to about 70 million. 90% Products purchased from Lithuanian companies in China are raw materials for the production of animal feed. That can be a problem, “R. Sartatavičius told BNS.
“The wood also gets stuck, the Chinese refuse to buy our products there and generally take our merchandise off the shelves, there are these problems,” he said.
According to R. Sartatavičius, cereal producers also fear breached contracts, some of which exceed 30 million. China’s partners refuse to start trading with Lithuanian companies. In addition, there were transport problems, as the trains did not work, the transport time was extended and the transport of goods in containers became more expensive.
According to the head of the confederation, the dairy industry also sees threats. Its sales to China last year amounted to about 6.5 million. euros. Meat companies also fear disruptions, as the harmonization of certificates for this country alone took several years. The sector’s sales to China last year amounted to 2 million. euros.
However, R. Sartatavičius emphasizes that the biggest problems currently arise due to the supply of raw materials.
“China is almost the only producer of some raw materials, starting with metal products, equipment that is imported a lot to Lithuania, ending with microcomponents and chips,” he said.
“The supply from China has increased from 32 to 70 days, and the price of containers has increased 6 times, for Lithuania last week it increased prices by 2 thousand. euros. Until now, neither Estonians nor Latvians are subject to such financial sanctions, ”said the head of the confederation.
He noted that changing raw material suppliers takes time and also requires working capital. According to R. Sartatavičius, in talks with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they are considering how to compensate for part of the losses in the Taiwanese market.
He did not mention what kind of help the companies are asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but, according to him, companies are likely to want to secure working capital.
“We have suggestions that maybe funds should be used, for example, the fund of the State Investment Management Agency could allocate funds. Not to subsidize, but to allocate working capital of around 500 million to one billion, if any. the possibility of having such financing. I would borrow, of course, but with a reasonable percentage, “he said.
A bad relationship
Due to the strengthening of Lithuania’s ties with Taipei, relations between Vilnius and Beijing have recently deteriorated. China views Taiwan as a rogue province.
Lithuania’s relations with China deteriorated especially after the decision to open a Taiwanese trade mission in Vilnius.
As a result, Beijing called its ambassador for consultations in August and ordered Lithuania to do the same. The country’s ambassador to China, Diana Mickevičienė, returned to Vilnius for consultations in early September.
China has also recently taken steps to stop freight trains to Lithuania, issue food export permits, lower credit limits for Lithuanian companies and raise prices.
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