Pollock exports to China approached pre-Covid levels

Exports of Russian frozen pollock (gutted, headless) to China for 10 months of 2022 increased by 64% to 483,300 tons compared to the same period last year. This is evidenced by the data of the Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet (ASRF, unites the structures of the Russian Fishery Company and Norebo) based on statistics from Chinese customs.

The volume of exports of this fish has approached pre-covid levels, although it has not fully recovered, says an ASRF representative. For 10 months of 2019 and 2020 581,000 tons and 545,000 tons were delivered to China, respectively. At the same time, as of December 14, Russian fishermen caught 1.8 million tons of pollock in the Far East, the Federal Agency for Fishery reported earlier.

Problems with exports to China through the ports of Dalian and Qingdao began in October 2020 after the Chinese side detected the Covid-19 pathogen in samples of frozen products from Russia. In response, the country’s authorities introduced the disinfection of fish entering the domestic market. As a result, restrictions affected up to 60% of all Russian exports of fish products. Dalian and Qingdao were opened for import to Russian fishermen only in January 2022.

The restoration of pollock supplies to China will allow pollock producers to mitigate the effect of a sixfold increase in the volume of rent payments established by amendments to the Tax Code in November 2022, German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Industry (VARPE), believes. In addition, according to him, direct deliveries reduce the operating costs for export, including the passage of ships to South Korea, the passage of administrative procedures there and the storage of products in local warehouses.

Despite the growth in shipments to China, it is still too early to talk about a full recovery of the market, says Alexei Buglak, President of the Association of Pollock Miners. In addition, it is difficult to say now how Chinese processors, for whom Russian pollock is supplied, survived almost two years of lockdown, he notes. Zverev adds that, in addition, shipments are recovering in physical terms, while in monetary terms, everything is not so rosy due to the strengthening of the ruble.

The restoration of supplies to China is a positive factor, but an important point is also the growth in purchases of Russian pollock fillets, says ARSF President Alexei Osintsev. For 9 months of this year, China imported 3,500 tons of such products, which is almost 20% more than in the first three quarters of last year. The industry needs to increase deep processing in the country, and not leave added value abroad, Osintsev is sure.

China is interested in importing frozen fish for the needs of its own processing, so Zverev doubts the prospects for supplies of pollock fillets to the country. According to him, the Chinese processing industry has been created for many years and is focused on the production of products with subsequent export, in addition, these capacities are enough to cover the needs of the domestic market. Imports of pollock fillet for domestic consumption in China from Russia increased, but still, by the end of 2021, it amounted to only 7,600 tons of pollock fillets, Buglak points out. According to him, this is 4 times less than pollock fillet consumption in Russia.