The export of fish products increased by 200,000 tonnes last year, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said.
"The current level of production opens up opportunities for us to increase exports. In 2023, the volume of fish product supplies to foreign markets increased by 200,000 tonnes to 2.5 million tonnes," Patrushev said at an extended meeting of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries.
He noted that the country is steadily expanding the geography of trade in foreign markets. "Last year, our fish products were purchased by 80 countries, which is significantly more than the previous year," the minister emphasized.
"We also maintain support measures for exporters. These include preferential short-term loans for ship repairs and the purchase of fish breeding material, and investment loans for the construction of processing facilities. In addition, we will continue to compensate for the costs of transporting fish products," he added.
Patrushev stated that the development of foreign trade is also facilitated by the work of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Federal Agency for Fisheries abroad to "identify potential importers and help establish communication."
The minister reminded that by 2030, exports of agricultural products are expected to increase by 1.5 times compared to 2021, and "fish products, as is known, always play a significant role in the structure of foreign supplies."
"Therefore, the development of export potential in this segment should continue: using all available tools, we need to increase volumes, prioritize the supply of products with high added value, and open up new sales markets," he emphasized.
Patrushev also noted that for the further development of fisheries, it is necessary to continue work on the qualitative assessment of water bioresource reserves and the study of new promising fishing grounds: 875 scientific expeditions within the Russian economic zone are already planned for 2024, and the Great African Expedition to study water bioresource reserves in areas of more than 10 countries should start.
"Overall, we should strengthen the presence of our fishing fleet in the zones of foreign states and conventional areas of the world ocean," Patrushev emphasized.