October 11, 2022 — Russian seafood exports continue to flow into Japan, despite revoking Russia’s most-favored-nation status in March 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The total value of all of Japan’s imports of Russian seafood in 2020 was JPY 103.9 billion (USD 900 million, EUR 900 million), representing about 7 percent of Japan’s seafood imports.
September 28, 2022 — Russia has adopted a new Agriculture and Fishery Development Strategy, after its previous strategy was rendered obsolete by the geopolitical upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
The new strategy is part of a larger economic plan geared toward achieving higher domestic growth rates following sanctions leived by European Union, United Kingdom, and the U.S levied against Russia. Another key part of the new plan, according to the note, is enhancing the nation’s food security and increasing its food exports.
July 7, 2022 — The European Parliament will provide financial help to European Union fisheries and aquaculture sectors struggling with the economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including giving compensation to those who have had to stop operating or whose economic viability is threatened.
On Wednesday, 6 July, 2022, Members of European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a measure to support fishers who have had to cease their activities due to the war in Ukraine as well as producers and fishing and aquaculture operators whose activities have been disrupted as a consequence of the conflict.
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June 15, 2022 — The Russian government has amended several fisheries-related regulations, including postponing for two years a vessel-construction requirement contained in its investment-quota program.
Russia has also abolished the mandatory conversion of revenue earned by exporters via foreign trade into rubles, and has allocated RUB 153 billion (USD 2.7 billion, EUR 2.5 billion) in direct aid to its agricultural and fisheries sectors to fortify them as they cope with the tightening financial vise of global sanctions put in place following the country’s February invasion of Ukraine.
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June 3, 2022 — The future of the Russian seafood market remains unclear as the country’s invasion of Ukraine continues, with a decline of household incomes forcing a rebuild of business models in premium segments.
The economic uncertainty that emerged in late February and early March due to sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine led the government to quickly tighten its control over consumer markets. The Russian ruble also heavily depreciated against the euro and U.S. dollar, which coincided with an exodus of major Western brands from Russia, all of which have hurt economic stability and impacted consumer behavior.
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May 16, 2022 — The U.K.’s restaurant and hospitality industry is asking for financial help as it faces higher taxes and rapidly rising seafood prices due to inflation and impending Russian sanctions.
The U.K. government issued sanctions against Russian goods – including the installation of a 35 percent tariff on whitefish – in March. In April, a government official said the sanctions had been “delayed while we sort some technicalities,” but noted “we are totally committed to them,” per Politico.
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May 10, 2022 — Rising seafood prices and consumer concerns about overall inflation in the U.S. continued to harm fresh seafood sales in April, according to new data.
However, frozen seafood sales rose 2.8 percent and shelf-stable seafood sales jumped 9.6 percent for the month, compared to April 2021, according to IRI and 210 Analytics.
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May 9, 2022 — Another U.S. senator has come forward with a bill that would prohibit Russian seafood imports from entering the country.
On 4 May, 2022, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) filed S.4143 in the chamber. Dubbed the Protecting American Food Producers from Russia’s Market Distortions Act, the bill would keep fish and other products out of American ports until Russia meets certain conditions.
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April 23, 2022 — Japan and Russia have reached an agreement over Tokyo’s annual catch quota for Russian-born salmon and trout, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Saturday, despite delays and chilled relations between the two sides amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The agreement on Japan’s quota for the popular fish in waters near disputed islands north of Hokkaido is a relief for Japanese fishermen who were worried about the prospects amid worsening ties between the two governments.
Japan and Russia concluded talks Friday, setting a catch quota of 2,050 tons for salmon and trout this year in Japan’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, the fisheries agency said in a statement. The quota is unchanged from last year, and Japan will pay 200-300 million yen ($1.56-2.34 million) in fees — depending on the actual catch — to Russia.
Read the full story at the Associated Press
April 15, 2022 — A U.S. ban on seafood imports from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine was supposed to sap billions of dollars from Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
But shortcomings in import regulations mean that Russian-caught pollock, salmon and crab are likely to enter the U.S. anyway, by way of the country vital to seafood supply chains across the world: China.
Like the U.S. seafood industry, Russian companies rely heavily on China to process their catch. Once there, the seafood can be re-exported to the U.S. as a “product of China” because country of origin labelling isn’t required.
The result is that nearly a third of the wild-caught fish imported from China is estimated to have been caught in Russian waters, according to an International Trade Commission study of 2019 data. For pollock and sockeye salmon, the rate is even higher — 50% to 75%.
“China doesn’t catch cod. They don’t catch pollock. But yet, they’re one of the largest exporters of these whitefish in the world,” said Sally Yozell, a former policy director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who now is a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington. “Having it labeled as a Chinese product is really not fair to the consumers and to restaurants.”