The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) has warned Chile that it may restrict seafood imports over certain violations.
Rosselkhoznadzor said in a release that it has asked the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of Chile (Sernapesca) to take measures to tighten export controls on seafood exported to Russia. According to the agency, Chile has sent products that violate Russian veterinary and sanitary requirements to the country.
“The Service has repeatedly recorded discrepancies in the accompanying documentation for these products from Chile,” Rosselkhoznadzor said in a release. “Discrepancies have also been noted in the information indicated on the labels and stated in the veterinary certificates.”
The service said that if Sernapesca does not take appropriate action, it will be “forced to introduce restrictive measures” starting on 20 September. Rosselkhoznadzor did not detail how widespread those measures would be or what they would entail.
Russia has restricted Chilean exports before for similar accusations.
Rosselkhoznadzor blocked products from a series of Chilean salmon-processing plants in early 2020, claiming it detected traces of crystal violet and antibiotics in farmed salmon. Russia restricted a total of 19 different establishments – 17 processing plants and two cold storage warehouses.
The nation began to lift restrictions later that same year, following a visit from then-Sernapesca Director Alicia Gallardo.
The more recent warning comes as Russia’s federal agency for fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo) said the total catch of seafood in Russia has reached 3.38 million metric tons (MT). The vast majority of that has been sourced out of the country’s far eastern basin, which is responsible for 2.6 million MT of seafood.
Most of that total is made up of pollock, with the Far East catching just under 1.6 million MT, which is 9,800 MT up from what it caught during the same time frame in 2024.
