Russia registers 30% rise in export of added-value fish products

In the first nine months of the current year 2018 Russia’s seafood market has been showing positive trends including rising output of fish fillets and mince and increasing seafood exports. Those trends have been developing against the background of decreasing imports of seafood, according to Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries (FAF).

Preliminary figures of the Russian Statistics Service say that in January-September 2018 seafood production in Russia totaled 3.2 million metric tons, 1% lower as compared to the last year result. The decrease was due to lower output of frozen fish (down by 2.1% to 2.3 mln MT) and canned fish (by 2.7% to 150,000 MT). At the same time production of fish fillets rose by 3% to 121,000 MT, frozen shellfish – by 0.6% to 51,000 MT and salmon roe output jumped 1.6 times to 18,200 MT.

Fillet export soaring

A similar trend could be observed in the structure of the nation’s seafood export. There was also a rise of shipments of fish fillets and shellfish against the background of falling frozen fish and canned fish exports.

The total volume of Russia’s seafood export shipments in January-September 2018 increased by 1% to 1.65 million metric tons. Exports of fish fillets and other fish meat products jumped by 27% to 103,000 MT, shellfish, mollusks and other invertebrates – by 2.4% to 85,000 MT. In the meanwhile, export of frozen fish dropped by 0.4% to 1.4 mln MT, ready-to-eat or canned fish – by 4.4% to 12,500 MT.

Imports up

The total volume of Russia’s fish imports in the same period amounted to 412,300 metric tons, 2.4% up on the corresponding result of 2017. The rise indicated higher shipments of ready-to-eat or canned fish (by 30% to 72,000 MT), fresh or chilled fish (by 24% to 26,700 MT), shellfish, mollusks and other invertebrates (by 10.6% to 47,000 MT). The nation’s import of frozen fish decreased by 6.1% to 205,300 metric tons and fish fillets and other fish meat – by 3.3% to 42,800 MT.