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The 12 imports Latvia is best placed to replace.

Latvia imported USD 17bn of manufactured goods in 2024 and exported USD 14bn. These are the 12 that sit closest to what it already makes well, with how concentrated the supply of each is.

USD 466mthe 12, imported in 2024
14products imported at scale, not yet exported well, and close to existing strengths
1165products Latvia already exports well
1,217public purchases of goods joined to a product family, from Tenders Electronic Daily (EU)
The 12

Demand, capability, exposure. Nothing else is claimed.

Each line shows the import bill, where it comes from, the nearest thing Latvia already exports well, and how many countries make it. It does not say whether a plant in Latvia would pay. That reason is not in any trade record, and it is the maker's question.

This edition carries public buyers from Tenders Electronic Daily (EU), 7,029 award notices from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-02, joined to each product's customs heading through a crosswalk we authored. The buyers are shown as context and do not change the score, because award values in these records include framework ceilings and outliers that would distort it. The regional layer (where the capability sits) is built only where a country publishes regional trade by product, and Latvia does not publish it in a form this record can read yet.

  1. 1

    Insulated electric conductors: for a voltage not exceeding 1000 volts, not fitted with connectorsHS 854449

    Comes fromPoland 23%, 47 source countries
    Nearest export strengthElectrical apparatus: parts (e.g. boards, panels, consoles, desks... (exports USD 6m)
    Exports of this lineUSD 23m
    Public buyers in the family5 awards from 4 buyers. Most frequent: Valsts akciju sabiedrība "Latvijas gaisa satiksme"

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 79m, top 7 per cent of candidates (3); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 39 per cent (1).

    USD 79mup 4% on 2022
  2. 2

    Iron or non-alloy steel: bars and rods, hot-rolled, hot-drawn or hot-extruded, containing indentations, ribs, grooves...HS 721420

    Comes fromLithuania 53%, 16 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 8m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 53m, top 14 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 37 per cent (1); Lithuania supplies 53 per cent (1).

    USD 53mdown 18% on 2022
  3. 3

    Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: nitrogenous, ammonium nitrate, whether or not in aqueous solutionHS 310230

    Comes fromUzbekistan 48%, 10 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 2m; 3 more lines in the heading, USD 68m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 39m, top 20 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 45 per cent (1); Uzbekistan supplies 48 per cent (1).

    USD 39mdown 18% on 2022
  4. 4

    Iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (not seamless), welded, of square or rectangular...HS 730661

    Comes fromLithuania 30%, 25 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 5m
    Public buyers in the family3 awards from 2 buyers. Most frequent: Akciju sabiedrība “Conexus Baltic Grid”

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 38m, top 22 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 21 per cent (2).

    USD 38mdown 26% on 2022
  5. 5

    Sugars: sucrose, chemically pure, in solid form, not containing added flavouring or colouring matterHS 170199

    Comes fromLithuania 58%, 25 source countries
    Nearest export strengthFood preparations: of flour, meal, starch, malt extract or milk... (exports USD 10m)
    Exports of this lineUSD 2m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 35m, top 24 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 35 per cent (1); Lithuania supplies 58 per cent (1).

    USD 35mdown 5% on 2022
  6. 6

    Waters: mineral and aerated, including natural or artificial, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter...HS 220110

    Comes fromLithuania 62%, 25 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 3m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 19m, top 50 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 26 per cent (1); Lithuania supplies 62 per cent (2).

    USD 19mup 16% on 2022
  7. 7

    Plastics: builders' ware, doors, windows and their frames and thresholds for doorsHS 392520

    Comes fromPoland 86%, 19 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 2m
    Public buyers in the family16 awards from 8 buyers. Most frequent: SIA "Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks"

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 12m, top 87 per cent of candidates (0); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 13 per cent (2); Poland supplies 86 per cent (2).

    USD 12mdown 47% on 2022
  8. 8

    Washing and cleaning preparations: powders, flakes and granules, surface-active, whether or not containing soap...HS 340250

    Comes fromLithuania 36%, 39 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 13m
    Public buyers in the family12 awards from 4 buyers. Most frequent: Rēzeknes valstspilsētas pašvaldība

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 49m, top 16 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 32 per cent (1).

    USD 49mup 27% on 2022
  9. 9

    T-shirts, singlets and other vests: of cotton, knitted or crochetedHS 610910

    Comes fromGermany 25%, 77 source countries
    Nearest export strengthShirts: men's or boys', of man-made fibres (not knitted or crocheted) (exports USD 3m)
    Exports of this lineUSD 24m; 1 more line in the heading, USD 10m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 48m, top 17 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 49 per cent (1).

    USD 48mup 47% on 2022
  10. 10

    Sanitary towels (pads) and tampons, napkins (diapers), napkin liners and similar articles, of any materialHS 961900

    Comes fromPoland 30%, 33 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 10m
    Public buyers in the family18 awards from 8 buyers. Most frequent: SIA “Publisko aktīvu pārvaldītājs Possessor”

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 39m, top 20 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 45 per cent (1).

    USD 39mup 10% on 2022
  11. 11

    Glass: carboys, bottles, flasks, jars, pots, phials and other containers of glass, (not ampoules), used for the...HS 701090

    Comes fromEstonia 41%, 43 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 5m
    Public buyers in the familynone matched to this product family

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 30m, top 30 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 45 per cent (1); Estonia supplies 41 per cent (1).

    USD 30mdown 27% on 2022
  12. 12

    Slag wool, rock wool and similar mineral wools (including intermixtures thereof), in bulk, sheets or rollsHS 680610

    Comes fromLithuania 44%, 19 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 1m
    Public buyers in the family7 awards from 4 buyers. Most frequent: SIA "Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks"

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 25m, top 40 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Latvia's export strengths in the top 40 per cent (1); Lithuania supplies 44 per cent (1).

    USD 25mdown 15% on 2022

The bill and its path, the sources and their unit values, who exports the line well, the nearest strengths, the public buyers where a country publishes them, and the method. We reply by email. Privacy

One line per customs heading. Products Latvia already exports well and still imports are below, because they are a different conversation. No employment figures appear on this page, by decision.

Made here already, still imported

Scale conversations, not capability ones.

  • Medicaments: consisting of mixed or unmixed products n.e.c. in heading no.... imports USD 750m, exports USD 553m, top source Lithuania 30%
  • Vehicles: with only compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine... imports USD 229m, exports USD 94m, top source Germany 48%
  • Telephone sets: smartphones for cellular or other wireless networks imports USD 401m, exports USD 297m, top source Lithuania 37%
  • Dog or cat food: put up for retail sale, used in animal feeding imports USD 108m, exports USD 28m, top source Lithuania 37%
  • Vehicles: with only compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine... imports USD 103m, exports USD 41m, top source Germany 80%
  • Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: containing the three fertilizing elements... imports USD 86m, exports USD 34m, top source Morocco 50%
  • Rubber: new pneumatic tyres, of a kind used on motor cars (including station... imports USD 98m, exports USD 57m, top source China 43%
  • Cigarettes: containing tobacco imports USD 63m, exports USD 23m, top source Poland 45%
  • Wine: still, in containers holding 2 litres or less imports USD 83m, exports USD 47m, top source Italy 28%
  • Undenatured ethyl alcohol: of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol. or... imports USD 43m, exports USD 8m, top source United States 81%
How the 12 were chosen

Three scores, each from a field the record carries.

Import bill, 0 to 3, by percentile among the 339 lines imported at USD 10m or more: above the median one point, top quarter two, top tenth three.

Proximity to export strengths, 0 to 3, on the same percentiles: the product-space method (Hidalgo, Klinger, Barabasi and Hausmann, Science 2007) on CEPII's BACI file of every bilateral trade flow for 2024, 157 countries and 5,388 products. Two products are close when the countries that export one well tend to export the other well. Only products in the upper half for proximity can enter the list at all: best placed is a proximity claim.

Supply concentration, 0 to 2: one point when a single country supplies 40 per cent or more, two at 60 per cent.

Public buyers, context only, never scored: 7,029 award notices from Tenders Electronic Daily (EU), 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-02, of which 2,794 were classified by the buyer as goods and 1,217 joined to a product family through a crosswalk we authored, because no official one exists. Only notices whose code names a specific product group are joined; broad division codes are left out. The join is a family, not an exact line, and the counts are a floor.

Scope. Manufactured goods, customs chapters 16 to 96, excluding ores, fuels and precious metals. Primary agriculture is out of scope for a page about manufacture.

What it cannot tell you

A map of where to look.

Trade data says what crossed the border, not why. Cost, scale, patents, tariffs and the plain fact that a supplier is good at it are all invisible here. The world file reconciles what each pair of countries reports, so a national customs file would differ in detail. Nothing on this page is a forecast or a promise.

Source: CEPII BACI, HS22, version 202601, years 2022 to 2024. Edition of 2026-11-03. The UK edition with its procurement and regional layers is at /made-here/.

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