In Latvia, biostimulants and fertilisers are basically regulated by three master legislations.

The first one is the Law on the Circulation of fertilisers (Mēslošanas līdzekļu aprites likums) and the second one is the regulation on the Identification, quality conformity assessment and trade of fertilizers and substrates (Mēslošanas līdzekļu un substrātu identifikācijas, kvalitātes atbilstības novērtēšanas un tirdzniecības noteikumi). The third one is the Regulation on the Registration, Marketing, and Use of Non-Harmonized Fertilizers ( Noteikumi par nesinhronizēto mēslojumu reģistrāciju, laišanu tirgū un izmantošanu) provide specific guidelines for the registration and marketing of non-harmonized fertilizers.

The first piece of legislation (the law on fertilizers) that entered into force on 15 09 2015 governs the production, import and trade of fertilisers, amongst others. It also defines fees in case of non-compliance or violation of the law and sets the basis for self-monitoring of producers and public information, for instance on annual sales data.

Fertilisers are defined as "any substance containing one or more chemical elements recognized as necessary for plants. These substances are intended to promote plant growth or are microbiological preparations containing live microorganisms that enhance plant growth and development or regulate microbiological processes in soil or plant growth substrate".

You see that biostimulants are included in that definition. Plant growth substrates are also covered by this legislation. These are described as materials, excluding soil in situ (naturally formed soil in its natural environment), in which plants are grown.

Any product that is to be sold on the Latvian market needs to be registered first.

The second main piece of legislation (about the identification, quality conformity assessment and so forth) entered into force on 15 September 2015. It contains all the nitty gritty detail about the specificaitons for various fertiliser types, minimum requirements in terms ot nutrients or composition, maximum thresholds for contaminants etc.

Plant biostimulants are defined as a "plant growth promoter as a product that contains one or more chemical elements recognized as essential for plants, along with one or more biologically active compounds. The primary use of these products, according to the recommended dosage, is to promote plant growth rather than to supply nutrients to the plants."

These would typically fall into one of either category:

(I) microbiological preparations (Mikrobioloģiskie preparāti) or (J) other plant growth promotors (Augu augšanas veicinātāji), or maybe also a "fertiliser for special use" (Mēslošanas līdzekļi speciālajai izmantošanai). Whether a product is one or the other will depend on the depending on composition and intended used.

In summary, only fertilizers and substrates included in the State Register of Fertilizers and Substrates of the State Information System for Crop Monitoring may be produced, packaged, imported and marketed in Latvia.

The pre-requisite for fertilizers (including biostimulants) and growths substrates to be included in the register are:

either the product is in compliance with Latvian legislation and can be registered directly,

or it is a product that is not in compliance with Latvian law and hence it must receive authorisation from the competent authorities prior to registration

the products are already legally marketed in other EU, EEA Member States or Turkey, in which case, a Mutual Recognition and subsequent registration can be applied for,

the product is a EU fertilizer with the corresponding CE marking.

Once a fertilizer (including biostimulant) or substrate is included in the register, its suitability for use in organic farming can be assessed.

Need help with your product for the Latvian market ?

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It will be a pleasure to help.

The sciBASICS Team.