Pilot to certify Russian fish exports to China starts Sept 1

MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - Russia and China began pilot operation of an electronic system to process, confirm and verify certificates of origin for marine biological resources exported to China on September 1.

The Russian Federal Fisheries Agency's control, oversight and fish conservation department, the agency's regional divisions, the Center for Fisheries Monitoring and Communications (CFMC) and Chinese regulators are participating in the project, the agency said.

The software developed by the CFMC has been tested and configured and is ready for commercial operation, the agency said.

"Electronic certification will reduce the time and resources exporters spend on processing the necessary documents, improve control over the quality and legality of products and create a more transparent and trustworthy trading environment between the countries. After the completion of official procedures, electronic certification of exports will also be introduced with [South] Korea," the agency said.

The president of the Pollock Catchers Association, Alexei Buglak was reported as saying by the Agriculture Ministry's Agroexport Center that the testing of the electronic certification system is the first step in efforts to digitalize document flow between Russia and China as regards exports of fish products.

"Now unloading of products from vessels is possible given the provision of scanned copies of certificates with mandatory mailing of originals with the attachment of the receipt with the date they were sent, which significantly complicates the organization of exports, including given the limited duration of catch certificates (IUU) and disruptions in the operations of foreign courier services. The transfer of these documents in digital form will help to ensure smooth deliveries," Buglak said.

The certificates of origin for seafood are necessary to confirm that fish products are legally caught and produced, he said.

Russia exported $2.9 billion worth of fish to China in 2023, including $1.6 billion worth of frozen fish and $1.2 billion worth of shellfish. Fish exports to China by volume totaled 1.21 million tonnes, the Fisheries Agency reported.