In the first six months of 2020, Russia exported seafood 6.7 percent more than in the corresponding period of 2019, reaching 1.16 million metric tons (MT). Seafood import decreased by seven percent, to 263,200 MT.
Primary contributors Russia’s growth in exports came from the ready-to-eat and canned fish categories, export volumes of which up by 46 percent to 13,700 MT. Frozen fish exports also rose by 8.6 percent to 1 million MT. Frozen pollock represents Russia’s top export by volume and value, and Russia increased its export volume by three percent to 498,200 MT.
Russia’s exports of invertebrates, including crustaceans and shellfish, fell by 16.5 percent to 46,500 MT, and its exports of fish fillets dropped by 10.8 percent to 65,100 MT. Export sales of frozen herring were down 14.4 percent to 67,000 MT.
The drop in Russia’s import volumes was mainly caused by declining volumes of frozen fish, by 14.3 percent to 130,700 MT, and fillets, which were down by 10.5 percent to 28,100 MT.
Fresh and chilled fish import volumes were up 24.3 percent to 16,400 MT. Invertebrate imports increased by 2.6 percent to 29,000 MT, and ready-to-eat and canned fish imports rose by 1.7 percent to 47,200 MT. Imports of frozen salmon rose by 15 percent to 23,700 MT.
Imports of frozen herring decreased by 7.6 percent to 22,800 MT, while frozen mackerel fell by 27.7 percent to 22,900 MT.
The rise in export and the decline in imports took place amid growing seafood production by Russia’s seafood companies. In the first half of 2020, 2.12 million MT of seafood products were manufactured in Russia, up 7.1 percent to 2019, primarily due to an increase in catches. Russian fishing companies harvested 2.5 million MT worth of seafood in the first half of 2020, 7.3 percent more than in H1 2019.
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