Regulators and fishing industry participants discussed export development challenges and their solutions

The main areas for developing fishery exports amid current restrictions on foreign markets were discussed at a roundtable discussion organized by the Fishery Shipowners Association (FSA) on October 24 at the International Fishery Forum.

According to current data as of October 19, cited by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Maxim Markovich, the value of fish and seafood exports increased by 13% year-on-year, including 22% for frozen fish, 17% for fish fillets, 10% for canned goods, and 9% for crustaceans. He noted the record-breaking exports of scallops and frozen fish, including cod, to China this year, the resumption of crab shipments to Tunisia, and the start of crab shipments to Thailand.

The Deputy Minister noted the importance of diversifying supply geography, entering new markets, and increasing export volumes to Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America for further export development. He named Brazil and Nigeria for pollock, as well as the UAE as a hub for crab exports, as the most promising importers of Russian fish products.

According to Agroexport data cited by Ilya Ilyushin, head of the center, in the first nine months of 2025, the value of exports for certain key products, including highly processed products, increased from $15 million to $148 million. These species include frozen pollock (+148 million), its fillets and minced meat (+15 million and +63 million), herring (+63 million), cod (+47 million), frozen haddock (+28 million), frozen salmon or sockeye salmon (+31 million), and live crab (+52 million).

Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries Andrey Yakovlev noted that one of the fundamental constraints facing the industry is the limited resource potential. Therefore, further growth in export revenue is possible through deeper processing and increased added value within the country.

He also emphasized that exporting such products faces barriers, the main ones being tariff and non-tariff restrictions, logistics, and obstacles to diversification. The key industry-specific solutions for overcoming these challenges include, in particular, developing port infrastructure, subsidizing railway tariffs, compensating for some transportation costs, as well as product certification in foreign markets, subsidizing loan interest rates, and fleet modernization.

According to Konstantin Savenkov, Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor, over 5,000 enterprises have been certified for export, of which fish and seafood suppliers are in first place with 1,370. In 2025, 207 new enterprises were certified for export to Brazil, India, China, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and Uzbekistan.

He also noted that not all certified enterprises actually export and emphasized that "obtaining access is a two-way street." This means that other countries are taking advantage of the supply opportunities provided under the agreements (India, in particular, is actively doing so), while Russian suppliers are not fully utilizing them.

As an additional source of export growth, FSA President Stanislav Aksyonov proposed working at the interstate level to reduce import duties on high-margin fish products (minced meat and surimi) in friendly markets. In Turkey, China, and India, such duties range from 7% to 30%. Another potential growth opportunity could be an increase in the pollock import quota for the Japanese market, where Russia's share of the total permitted import volume is approximately 10%, while that of its main competitor (the United States) is approximately 70%. If this opportunity is secured, the value of Russian pollock exports to Japan could increase from $30 million to $100 million.

The head of the FSA also emphasized the importance of reducing the time required to obtain permits for new product shipments to China. As Alexey Osintsev, Vice President of the FSA, added, there is experience with temporary, targeted solutions. For example, a temporary duty reduction on frozen pollock exports to China. He proposed extending this approach to other products.

Ilya Rakovsky, President of the Association of Fishermen of Karelia, separately described the situation in the Northern Basin, noting that northern exporters are facing a double challenge: restrictions that the rest of the industry is overcoming, and a significant reduction in stocks. The expert recalled that the TAC for cod has been declining by 20% for the fifth year running, and "scientists are not giving any hope for stock growth in the next year or two."

Ilya Strokin, Executive Director of the audit and consulting company Technologies of Trust (TeDo), noted the key role of exports, which account for a significant share of fisheries revenue (63% by the end of 2024), in ensuring the sustainability of the fishing industry. He emphasized that Margins in fisheries and fish farming have fallen from 63% in 2021 to 26% in 2024 (33% in the first six months of 2025).

To achieve the export value target of $8.5 billion by 2030, amid high risks, TeDo recommends supporting exporters, deepening processing, expanding sales markets, and developing the domestic market in balance with exports to maintain the industry's sustainability.

Russian Senators Lyudmila Talabaeva and Elena Dyagileva noted the importance of export development. Elena Dyagileva noted that restricting export opportunities "has led to increased interest in the domestic market." Lyudmila Talabaeva noted the restoration of pre-sanction export levels and called for addressing issues related to the Russian market. The senator highlighted the development of fish processing, work on the target structure of exports and measures to stimulate them, and expanding the number of countries where fish products are exported as important tasks for achieving export targets.