Aquaculture

Reorganization of Russian aquaculture to attract new money

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The Russian aquaculture sector is to receive a cash injection of 260 million roubles up to 2017 to support scientific development. The new money comes as part of a general reorganization of the aquaculture industry in Russia.

The reorganization of the industry will see more powers devolved to the regions and the inland water bodies. The meeting heard that over the last two years the fisheries’ agency has been overseeing the implementation of new laws for a new legal framework for the sector.

The new powers cover the delimitation of aquaculture sites and the organisation of auctions for the rights for hatchery sites as well as monitoring the implementation of these agreements.

The Russian Fishery Agency said that this would allow the regions to facilitate the development of aquaculture.

The new regulations also cover water licences and contracts and land contracts.

The head of the Fishery Agency, Ilya Shestakov, said that many of the regions had not yet establish a regional aquaculture programme for the development of marketable products and he called on them to speed up the process.

However, the regional authorities said that they had encountered problems over the protection of property rights and the expansion of the composition of species in aquaculture farms and well as the use of intensive technology and concerns over the epizootic risks.

There were further concerns over the way the new regulations were being implemented to integrate the water bodies into the programme and the way state support for insurance and the expansion of work in the fields of selection and breeding was being put in place

To ensure the new laws are implemented smoothly, the ministry of agriculture and the fisheries’ agency said that the moves would be supported by subsidised short-term and long-term loans – a move that had been started in 2015.

“Today, companies are showing an active interest in this state instrument. However, there are problems with the borrowing of funds. Banks are reluctant to make loans to the sector,” said Mr Shestakov. He said the lack of interest from the banks was because of concern over a lack of activity in the sector and fears of poor returns.

He said that the Russian Fishery Agency had held a number of meetings with representatives of financial and credit institutions to develop more flexible lending to commercial farms.

Already, this year eight projects worth 4.2 billion roubles have been allocated subsidies of about 200 million roubles.

Mr Shestakov said that it was also necessary to look at other ways of attracting new credit resources into the aquaculture sector. He added that 260 million roubles will be made available to the sector, 30 million or 13 per cent more than in 2015 to support the research institutes.

The fisheries’ agency is backing research across the aquaculture sector and in fish feed production as well as providing scientific support to new aquaculture projects

“The resumption of targeted funding in the field of aquaculture research will create a qualitatively new scientific base to sustained growth in the production of fishery products,” said Mr Shestakov.

“Today, we are working together with the industry and the business community on the realisation trends and the expansion of research in this area.”

www.thefishsite.com

Development of aquaculture sector in Russia

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Development of the aquaculture sector in Russia is far below its potential. Current annual production is estimated at 160,000 MT, or three to four percent of total fish and seafood production in Russia. Russia’s share of world aquaculture production is estimated at only 0.2 percent. Lack of government support, outdated equipment and production technologies, as well as a deficit in feed, are major constraints to further development of the sector.

www.fas.usda.gov

Russia’s Salmon Aquaculture Sector is Growing Rapidly

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The outlook is good for Russian salmon production as, since the start of 2013, the country has experienced a rise in both its wild salmon and aquaculture sectors.

At the beginning of July 2013, the catch of Pacific salmon in the Far East fishery basin had reached 11,000 tonnes, 2,000 tonnes more than in the year 2011. Around 10,400 tonnes was registered in Kamchatsky Krai, the main fishing area, according to the Globefish Highlights Quarterly Update, written by Audun Lem, Paola Sabatini and Karine Boisset.

The Asian market is the main destination for exports of wild salmon species from Russia. Between January and April, exports of frozen Pacific salmon to China amounted to over 17,000 tonnes (104 per cent increase compared with January-April 2012). The average export price went down by 16 per cent to $1.9 per kg.

Growth in the Aquaculture Sector

Production of farmed Atlantic salmon from the national aquaculture sector in the Murmansk region is increasing. The major players in this sector are Russian Salmon and the Russian Sea Group. Created in 2005, Russian Salmon was the first company in Russia to engage in industrial farming of Atlantic salmon in the Bays of Pechenga and Ambarnaya in the Barents Sea. In 2011, the company’s production of farmed salmon was 8,500 tonnes and by the end of this year, this figure is expected to increase to 21,000 tonnes.

The Russian Sea Group is ready to launch its second salmon farm in June 2013 on Shalim site in Ura Bay, Barents Sea, where around 1.6 million of smolts of Atlantic salmon are expected to be put into the water. The first salmon harvest is planned for 2014 and sales are expected of more than 3,000 tonnes. In addition, two more new sites will follow in 2014.

The national production of farmed Atlantic salmon is entirely targeted at the domestic market for partial substitution of imported Atlantic salmon.

Norwegian Salmon Imports Declining

Historically, Norway has been the largest supplier of Atlantic salmon to the Russian market. In the first five months of 2013, Norway exported 42,179 tonnes of Atlantic salmon to Russia. This is 19 per cent less in terms of volume compared with the same period in the past year, while the export value increased by 11 per cent.

About 95 per cent of the volume is made up of fresh and chilled salmon. The average export price of Norwegian salmon to Russia went up by 37 per cent reaching €4.8 (NOK 37.32) per kg compared with €3.5 (NOK 27.25) per kg in the previous year.

In May 2013, Norwegian exports of salmon to the Russian market went down by 12 per cent reaching 7,833 tonnes compared with the same period last year. At the same time, the value of the exports grew by 24 per cent as a result of the increased export price per kg by 41 per cent.

On the domestic market in Moscow in mid-July, the price of Atlantic salmon from Norway is still high
as a result of a shortage of supply from Norway while demand from Russia has increased. The main
reasons for the lack of deliveries of salmon are the closure of several plants for technical reasons and also because of fish diseases.

On the wholesale market in Moscow the prices for Atlantic salmon 4-5, 5-6 of Norwegian origin range from RUB 330 (€7.67) to RUB 340 (€7.9) per kg, while the prices for Atlantic salmon 6-7 are in the range of RUB 340 (€7.9) to RUB 345 (€8) per kg. Prices are likely to increase for all sizes.

Source: www.thefishsite.com