Russian ships start offloading fish at Chinese port of Dalian

MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - Russian ships have started offloading fish after China opened up the ports of Dalian and Qingdao for bulk fish deliveries.

The first Russian vessel with fish products entered the port of Dalian on January 16, Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency reported. This information was confirmed by the agency's representative in China.

The refrigerated transport vessel Vysotsk (JSC Gidrostroy) delivered more than 7,000 tonnes of product from several Russian companies, primarily Alaska pollock, pollock roe and milt, as well as pollock and herring meal. The products were received for transport in the exclusive economic zone of the North Sea of Okhotsk subzone from December 23, 2021 to January 7, 2022.

Restrictions on imports of Russian fish products through the ports of Dalian and Qingdao were imposed at the end of 2020 by local authorities and Covid-19 response centers. Due to measures to combat the pandemic, imports of unpackaged products, including in bulk, were prohibited at these ports. Shipments were only allowed in refrigerators or containers.

The restrictions had an impact on the logistics for fish caught in the Far East basin. Fishing companies diversified exports and increased shipments to Russia's domestic market. Meanwhile, negotiations were held with China to resume shipments.

The restrictions were finally lifted on January 10 for Dalian and January 11 for Qingdao.

Russia exported more than 2 million tonnes of fish and other seafood worth over $7 billion in 2021, according to Federal Customs Service data cited by the Agriculture Ministry's Agroexport center (data for the Eurasian Economic Union is for ten months). Exports jumped 33.7% year-on-year by value.

The largest importers of Russian fish were South Korea with $2.2 billion, up 35.1% year-on-year; the Netherlands with $1.5 billion, up 71%; and Japan with $658 million, up 160%. Exports to China, meanwhile, dropped 30.7% to $1.1 billion.