Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow, Russia says that the Russian Agriculture Ministry has granted approval to import fish and fish products to the Russia from Sri Lanka, and already some 14 Sri Lankan fish exporting companies had sought to export their products. 

According to the Embassy, these companies would also have the added advantage of exporting their products to Belarus and Kazakhstan since these countries have established a ‘Customs Union’ with the Russian Federation, whereby a product imported to one country can also be imported to the 2 other countries without payment of Customs duties.

“The population of the Russian Federation is about 150 million and the Russian market with its rising purchasing power is quite sizeable. There is high demand for fish and fish products in Russia, particularly for exotic fish varieties and seafood. The 14 Sri Lankan companies which have been approved to export fish and fish products to Russia would be able to supply fish and fish products in the categories of Fresh or Chilled Fish, Frozen Fish, Fish Fillets and Other Fish Meat, and Dried or Salted Fish. 

According to statistics of the Russian Federal Customs Service, in 2013 Russia imported 443,014 tons of fish and fish products of these categories to the value of US$ 1581 million. During January-September 2014, Russia imported 484,000 tons of fish and fish products falling under this category to the value of US$ 1422 million.” The Embassy says.

It further says the opportunity to export fish and fish products to the Russian market is a major achievement for the fisheries industry of Sri Lanka. Generally, the Russian authorities issue licenses to foreign companies to export food items to Russia under stringent conditions after conducting numerous checks and even making spot visits to food processing plants in foreign countries to verify compliance of quality and hygiene standards. 

The fact that approval has been granted to export Sri Lankan fish products to Russia is testimony to the high quality and standard of Sri Lankan fish products supplied to the international market and the confidence reposed in Sri Lankan fish exporting companies meeting the strict standards of the Russian authorities.

In its fight against illegal fishing activities worldwide, the European Commission has proposed to ban imports of fisheries products from Sri Lanka to tackle the commercial benefits stemming from illegal fishing. The move comes after four years of intense dialogue with the country after which it could not demonstrate that it sufficiently addressed illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, last month.