Just a month and a half after Russian seafood firms regained full access to the Chinese market, they may face new restrictions.
In mid-January, the Chinese ports of Dalian and Qingdao lifted restrictions previously imposed on bulk seafood imported from Russia – a move that had cost the Russian seafood industry an estimated USD 400 million (EUR 355 million). Russia appears to have come under special scrutiny due to its proximity to China and for the amount of seafood it exports.
The relatively short distance between Russia and China gives COVID-19 a good chance to arrive in China alive, according to Chinese Customs. In February 2021, Russian officials said the country’s exports to China had nearly ceased, as only seafood shipped in reefer containers or reefer ships was allowed to enter Chinese ports.
Now, Dalian and Qingdao are considering the implementation of augmented COVID-19 safety measures. Russian business journal Kommersant reported that Russian companies received a notification that handling of seafood cargo had been stopped in the port of Dalian, and that similar delays were occurring in Qingdao.
Dobroflot CEO Alexander Efremov told Kommersant that in Qingdao, only three of five Dobroflot’s vessels were unloaded without problems. He said contradictory results of COVID-19 tests performed on Dobroflot staff had caused the delays in handling. A representative of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries told Kommersant that the restrictions in Dalian had been imposed due to a positive test of a port’s employee, and that the enhanced safety measures will likely last just a few days.
A representative of the Russian Fishery Company also confirmed RFC had experienced delays in unloading at the two ports.
Russia’s exports to China dropped by 60 percent in 2021. With total seafood exports of USD 5.85 billion (EUR 5.27 billion) in 2021, around half of that value came from shipments to South Korea, with China accounting for just 18 percent of the total versus, 61 percent in 2020. And the trend of Russian seafood traveling to South Korea instead of directly to China has continued in 2022 as, Russia’s seafood sales to South Korea accounted for USD 247 million (EUR 222.3 million) followed by China with USD 194 million (EUR 174.6 million) and the European Union with USD 147 million (EUR 132.3 million).
Due to the numerous sanctions imposed by Western and some Asian countries on Russia because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian fishing companies are facing turbulence and the potential that China may remain the only destination for Russian fishery export, the possible closure of the ports may deliver a devastating blow to the Russia’s seafood industry.
Clients in Asian ports are refusing to buy fish from Russian ships, according to Maxim Kozlov, chairman of the Association of Sakhalin Region Fisheries. The only country where the association’ companies haven’t had problems sending product has been China, Kozlov said.
The robust pollock season A that has started in Russia on 1 January and will last through April. The Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries said that 520,000 metric tons (MT) of pollock had been harvested through 10 March, up 16 percent year-on-year. Even with Russia’s successful efforts to manufacture more high-value-added products from raw materials, Russian companies are worried there will be a glut of pollock should China reduce its buying.
Photo courtesy of Dobroflot
