A boom in Russia's oyster production boosted the country's trade independence, according to Russia Federal Agency for Fisheries Head Ilya Shestakov.
According to new agency data, Russia's oyster-production volumes increased 12 percent year-over-year in the first six months of 2021. Over the past seven years, Russia has increased its oyster harvests from just two metric tons (MT) to 4,500 MT of farmed oysters and 185 MT of wild-harvested oysters, figures it achieved just in the first half of 2021.
In 2014, Russia’s oyster market was dominated by imports from France. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed a ban on food imports from several major seafood-trading countries in August 2014. The ban was renewed on 22 September, 2021, for another year. The ban encouraged Russia's domestic oyster sector, according to Shestakov.
Another major factor in the increase in domestic production was the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, with the region’s maricultural resources absorbed into Russia’s efforts to revive its aquaculture sector.
Russian Association of Production and Retail Fish Companies President Vitaly Kornev said Russian oyster imports are now practically nonexistent.
“More than 90 percent come from the Crimea and the Russian Far East,” Kornev said. “The most consumption occurs in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Shellfish are rather easy to ship, they are transported by air for sale in retail and consumption at restaurants.”
Despite the massive increase in domestic production, an even greater surge in demand for oysters means imports are still important to the market, according to marketing agency ROIF Expert. The agency wrote in a report that the consumption of oysters in Russia has increased by 150 percent in 2021, forcing some restaurateurs to begin relying on imports again.
Meat&Fish Restaurant chain Owner Sergey Mironov told Kommersant FM that Russian oysters sometimes have quality issues.
“There are few oysters from the Black Sea. Oysters from the Far East sometimes cause toxification,” Mironov said.
White Rabbit Family Chef Vladimir Mukhin said he has “never eaten delicious Russian shellfish that would have a taste of the sea.” Restaurant Sakhalin, a part of White Rabbit Family, still buys its oysters from Japan.
The upward trend in oyster production reflects an overall trend in Russian aquaculture that has been experiencing a boom in recent years. Aquaculture output has doubled over the past six years, making it the fastest-growing segment in Russia’s agricultural sector. In 2020, aqua-farming volumes increased 14 percent over 2019. So far in 2021, aquaculture production is outpacing 2020 totals by 20 percent. Russia's 2021 aquaculture output is expected to be 360,000 MT, up from 328,000 MT in 2020.
Photo courtesy of Elena Dialectic
