Results of Russian fish and seafood imports for 9 months of 2020

The third quarter of 2020 has ended with mixed results fot the Russian fish and shellfish importation sector, reports Megafishnet.com.

According to DEFA Group analysts, the total volume of imports under HSC group 03 decreased by almost 11% compared to 2019, and amounted to 282.4 thousand metric tons. Import volumes continue to decline for most product groups. The volume of imports decreased significantly by 34.9% for saury/sardines and by 32.2% for surimi.

The total volume of imports of salmon and trout remained on a par with last year, but there were some remarkable rises and falls in a number of product categories. Purchases of chilled trout (+77.1%) and coho salmon (+87.5%) nearly doubled, while imports of fresh frozen items decreased by 20.3%, salmon – by 12.2%, and salmon fillets – by 26.1%.

Salmon

Imports of frozen salmon from Chile in January-September 2020 amounted to 35.4 thousand tonnes, 8.8% down on the corresponding result of 2019. The volume of chilled Chilean salmon increased by 5.9% to 10.8 thousand tonnes.

Pelagics

The total volume of pelagic imports decreased by 5.3 thousand tonnes (6.6%). Imports of mackerel and herring decreased by 9.5% and 5.2% respectively. However, we see a significant increase in the volume of herring fillets – by 21.2% compared to 9 months last year.

Russian imports of hake are on a steady rise – in January-September 2020 +32.9% on 2019. Dynamics of purchases of white fish fillets also remains positive with a rise of 2.6% through the first nine months.

The pelagic fishing season has finally unrolled in full, as Russian fishermen followed the Faroese fishermen to the herring fishery. The herring harvested by the Faroese fleets is 80% of the size 350-380+. Russian herring from the North Atlantic basin is 70% larger than 300+. There will also be a lot of offers from fleets from the Russian Far East in early November.

Mackerel

As for mackerel, this year the volume of imported mackerel will not exceed 55,000 tons. It is worth noting that the Russian fleets have the smallest coldstore inventories, since mackerel caught in June and July was delivered to the international market. As a result, experts expect a big gap on the mackerel market starting from December 2020.

It is also worth noticing that the price of blue whiting has reached its historical maximum and reaches 70 rubles per 1 kg. No reduction in prices is forecasted, since all quotas have been exhausted, and blue whiting from the new catch will arrive no earlier than January.

Shellfish

Total imports of shellfish decreased by 9.3% compared to 2019 and amounted to 52 thousand tonnes. For mollusks, the decline continues: the volume decreased by 15.7%, for crustaceans - by 5.2%. But imports of vannamei shrimp are rising again: +2,3% to 20 thousand tonnes through the period under analysis.

For copyright please write to vera@megafishnet.com.