Recent changes in agricultural land ownership and transaction structure in Latvia
2018
Valtenbergs, V., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia);Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia). Analytical Service | Avotniece, Z., Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia). Analytical Service | Beizitere, I., ''RISEBA'' University of Business, Arts and Technology, Riga (Latvia) | Grumolte-Lerhe, I., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia);Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia). Analytical Service
Land grabbing, characterised by the amassing of large amounts of land property in the hands of a few landowners, is a topical problem throughout the world. This study characterises the ownership and market situation of agricultural land in Latvia from 2012 till 2017. In 2014, the Law “On Land Privatisation in Rural Areas” was amended establishing various restrictions for natural and legal persons to purchase agricultural land. The effects of these amendments varied in each group of agricultural land market players. The study analyses the structure of agricultural land ownership in Latvia, agricultural land sale and purchase transactions in Latvia and the dynamics of transactions based on data obtained from State Land Service. The results of the study demonstrate that the structure of agricultural land ownership shows indications of property concentration. The proportion of legal entities as owners is significantly increasing, as is the amount of agricultural land they own and the number of purchases they have made. It has been found that properties containing large areas of agricultural land are owned by legal entities with foreign capital. In turn, there is only a small proportion of natural persons of foreign citizenship (hereinafter referred to as “foreign citizens”) within the overall agricultural land owner structure.
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