Surimi production in Russia growing almost three-fold

In 2021-2022 surimi production in Russia has been growing while new processor trawlers started operating on the grounds.

According to Vedomosti, sea-frozen surimi production was launched last year onboard the new super trawler Vladimir Limanov owned by Russian Fishery Company (a member of the Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet). This year, the company has built one more super trawler - Kapitan Vdovichenko.

In 2021, 8.4 thousand metric tons of surimi were produced in Russia, while the forecast for this year is about 28 thousand metric tons. By mid-November 2022, more than 24 thousand tonnes of pollock surimi have already been produced, this raw is used for the production of fish products, primarily crab sticks. According to Alexey Buglak, the president of the Association of Pollock Harvesters, this is about 4 times higher than in the same period last year. The same figures are given by representatives of the Fish Union and the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE).

Experts attribute the surimi production growth to the rise of the nation's processing trawler fleet. Until last year, surimi was not produced in Russia, said German Zverev, President of VARPE. But in 2021 enterprises built under the first stage of the investment quota program were commissioned in Russia.

According to the state program, in exchange for the quota allocation, the companies were obliged to build fish processing plants and upgrade the fishing fleet. In particular, last year the Gidrostroy group of companies began producing surimi on Shikotan Island in the Krabozavodsk complex, and Russian Fishery Company launched a fish processing factory onboard the Kapitan Vdovichenko super trawler.