14 Aug 2024 17:56

Russia increases share of crab on S. Korean crab market to almost 80% in first half of 2024 - VARPE

MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Russia exported 9,400 tonnes of crab worth $177 million to South Korea in the first half of this year, the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE) said.

Supplies decreased by 20% in physical terms and by 14% in value terms.

The association said one of the reasons for the reduction of the supply is the general reduction of crab procurement by South Korea; imports of these products to the country decreased by 12.8% in physical terms and by 15% in value terms in the first half of this year.

Nevertheless, stabilization of crab prices enabled Russia to increase its share on the South Korean market in value terms from 78.2% in the first half of 2023 to 79.1% in January-June 2024, it said. "The prices of Russian crabs are even lower than in 2021 and 2022, but the average prices have started increasing gradually. Specifically, the average cost of frozen crab from Russia has increased by almost two percent, and the cost of live and chilled crab has increased by 16% since the first half of last year," it said.

Russia's share has decreased to 39.6% from 42.7% last year in physical terms.

According to the association, exports of frozen crab from Russia to South Korea reached 4,400 tonnes worth $40.9 million in the first half of this year against 4.7 million tonnes worth $42.9 million last year, and the export of live and chilled crab has reached 5,000 tonnes worth $136.1 million against 6,950 tonnes worth $162.6 million, respectively.

Russian crab catchers not only maintained their share on the Korean live crab market in value terms (91.9%) in the first half of this year, but also increased their share in the frozen crab sector by almost four percentage points to 54.1%, VARPE said.

"Russian fishermen lead in the supply of premium sorts of crab, which enables them to maintain a considerable share of the world's market in monetary terms. The volume of Russian crab exports in 2023 reached $1.8 billion, which, according to VARPE estimations, is 40% of the world's trade in this aquatic bioresource," it said.