The European Union will discuss restrictions on the import of Russian fish

The Baltic countries insist on restrictions. In 2022, more than 70% of pollock imported into the European Union came from RUSSIA. Supplies from the usa , the second largest exporter of fish, are 20% more expensive

The European Union, as part of a new package of sanctions against Russia due to military actions in Ukraine, will discuss restrictions on the import of Russian fish, Die Welt reports.

The publication recalls that in the spring of 2022, the EU banned the import of seafood, caviar and crustaceans from Russia. Now in Brussels there is a discussion about tightening the ban, and a fresh one may also fall under it.fish . Discussions should officially begin after the summer holidays.

According to Welt, the Baltic countries, in particular Lithuania, are insisting on measures. In July, Undercurrent News reported that Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden accused Russia of fishing for cod, herring and sprat in the Baltic Sea during seasonal bans that others respect. The President of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE), German Zverev, called the accusations unfounded and suggested that these countries want to leave the European Union without Russian fish and gain a competitive advantage.

Welt, citing data from the Association of Fish Processors and Traders of the EU (AIPCE), writes that in 2022, more than 70% of pollock imported into the EU came from Russia. According to the industry association Fish Information Center, 85% of pollock consumed in Germany comes from Russia. “If Russian pollock supplies cease completely due to sanctions, there is currently no replacement,” said Stefan Meier, managing DIRECTOR of the German Federal Fishing Industry Association.

According to Mayer, supplies from the United States will not be able to compensate for a possible reduction in imports from Russia. The United States is the second largest supplier of pollock to Europe after Russia. Deliveries from the USA cost 20% more, writes Welt.

The President of the Association of Fishing Fleet Shipowners, Alexei Osintsev, believes that restrictions on the supply of Russian fish to the markets of the EU, as well as the USA and Great Britain  , “are a purely political instrument” that harms not only Russian suppliers, “but, sometimes to a greater extent, producers of those countries that use this tool.” In a conversation with RBC, he recalled that fish processors in the European Union opposed the exclusion of Russian white fish (products from pollock, cod, haddock, etc.) from the zero tariff system (ATQ) for imports into the EU, but still set duties at 13.7 %.

“Relevant European associations clearly state that they are not ready to be left without Russian fish. At the same time, despite the absence today of a direct ban on supplies from Russia, they are limited by the inability to obtain fish products from our new ships and factories, since the European Commission does not certify them,” Osintsev said. According to him, by the end of 2023, Germany lost half of its supplies of fish products from Russia (from 47.7 thousand to 23.9 thousand tons). Osintsev admitted that without Russian products, European countries will have to increase purchases of artificially bred warm-water fish, “which often has questions from the point of view of veterinary and sanitary safety.”

“As for the impact of the situation on our market, supplies here are increasing, including highly processed products. But this is not as fast a process as we would like. And the domestic market, of course, is not able to replace EXPORT supplies, the increase of which is an important priority,” added the president of the Association of Fishing Fleet Shipowners.

At the end of May, WARPE, citing data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reported a shortage of Atlantic cod in the European Union amid declining global catches and restrictions on trade with Russia. In 2023, the EU imported 284.7 thousand tons of cod (excluding salted fillets). Almost half of the supplies are frozen cod (112.3 thousand tons). Of this volume, 54.7% (61.4 thousand tons) was brought from Russia. Cod supplies in 2024, according to FAO forecasts, will decrease due to a reduction in production quotas in the Barents Sea.