Norway

Russia might ban meat and dairy products from Norway

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Russia has enhanced control with meat and dairy products from Norway, following a ban on imports of fish from January 1.

The Russian Federal Service for Agricultural Control (Rosselkhoznadzor) does not trust its Norwegian counterpart Mattilsynet to be able to guarantee the safety of food coming from Norway. From January 1 the organization imposed import restrictions on a long list of fish, claiming that Norway’s system for quality control is too lax, which has allowed for low-quality fish to enter the Russian market.

“Because it’s the same organization that gives guarantees not only on fish but also on other regulated products, including milk products and meat, we are forced to enhance control on these sorts of products as well”, said Aleksey Alekseenko, Assistant Manager of Rosselkhoznadzor.

“Subsequently, a failure to produce sufficient state guarantees on the safety of products from Norway can lead to a ban on imports of milk and meat to Russia”, he added.

At the Borisoglebsk border-crossing station between Russian and Norway a sign warning travelers about ban on import of meat and dairy products was put up already in the beginning of December.

www.barentsobserver.com

Norway chilled salmon became more expensive

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$7.65 per 1 kilogram is the highest price in 10 years for this season, said the Association of produce and trade companies of fish market. In comparison with last year’s same period Norway chilled salmon price increased by 60%. Norway suppliers refer to tough weather conditions – due to them the price of transportation highly increased. As result the price to consumer grew up respectively.

The Association of fish market says that the same factor will also influence the price in future. “In other words, Norwegians will be able to sell fish at a price that does not have any market explanation. That means they can set any price”, – the Association says. Also the Association thinks that the situation worsened due to the lack of competition – now Norwegians are the only suppliers of salmon. Last year Polish companies could compete with them, but in the beginning of 2013 all big fish farming companies fell under Norway companies’ control.

According to Russian the Federal Fisheries Agency’s predictions, in 2013 the salmon market is 400,000 tons, 150,000 tons of which is Norway salmon. According to Norway Fish Committee, during period January-October 2013 the supply of fish and seafood from Norway to Russia decreased by 17.3% – till 224,700 tons. In monetary terms the import increased by 6.1% – till €630 million. Imports of Norway salmon decreased by 18.2% – till 87,000 tons while the average price of supplies increased by 37.8% – till €4.65 per kilogram. Imports of trout shrank by 14.1% – till 21,900 tons while costs increased by 37.8% – till €4.97 per kilogram.

Alexandr Savelyev, the representative of the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency, interprets the situation as an “outrage”. “In Russia the price on farmed fish is 4-6 times higher than price on wild fish. It is the only country with a situation like that”, – he says. According to the information of the Federal Fisheries Agency, prime cost of Norway salmon is 50 Rubles per kilogram, Russian salmon – 80 Rubles per kilogram.

Timur Mitulov, the head of informational fishery agency, considers the matter is not only the weather: “Russian Far East yield of salmon decreased by 12-13%, meanwhile Japan and USA demand strengthened”.

Meanwhile representatives of X5 Retail Group and “Sedmoy Kontinent” say, that during the last 3 months they haven’t noticed any price increases on the part of suppliers who sell Norway chilled salmon.

www.retailer.ru

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

Russia halted norwegian salmon imports again

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The Russian Veterinary service, Rosselkhoznadzor, has detected harmful microorganisms in salmon and trout imported from Norway and on Friday, May 3, it banned supplies from a Norwegian fish factory – Tobo Fisk AS.

Rosselhoznadzor stated that fish supplies from Norway would be prohibited until the Norweigian Food Safety Authority does not provide a guarantee of the safety of products or a specific plan to improve security within a few weeks.

Source: www.vmdaily.ru, www.thefishsite.com

Binding port state crab control treaty to be signed between Russia and Japan

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Russia is on the verge of taking another major step to control crab poaching, which is still two to three times the legal limit according to Hokkaido crab dealers. A treaty will be signed in September between Russia and Japan requiring separately transmitted documents from Russian officials for every crab landing in Japan. In the past, these measures have been effective when enforced by the Port state – in this case, Japan. Overall crab quotas in the Russian Far East are 46,000 tons, of which most is snow crab.

Another dispute involving Russia and Norway is building with the arrest of Russian vessels operating near Svalbard. Some Russian officials are threatening to retaliate with another ban on Norwegian seafood imports.

Source: www.seafoodnews.com

Russian inspection of Norwegian slaughter facilities postponed

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The planned inspection by Russian veterinary staff of Norwegian salmon slaughterhouses approved for export of salmon and trout to Russia has been postponed until the autumn.

All salmon slaughterhouses to export salmon and trout from Russia must be approved by the Russian veterinary. In May, 13 Norwegian salmon slaughterhouses were restricted from exporting fresh salmon and trout to Russia by the Russian veterinary. They could, however, continue to export frozen salmon and trout.

Status as of 7 June is thus that 32 companies can export salmon and trout to Russia, 21 companies can export fresh and frozen trout, while 11 only can export frozen.

Source: www.thefishsite.com