Russia’s seafood industry: growth and export potential
Russia is among the world’s largest exporters of seafood, alongside India. Both countries also import various types of fish and seafood to meet domestic demand. Global appetite—particularly in the Asia-Pacific region—for Russian ultra-processed seafood has surged. Frozen whitefish fillets, pollock-based surimi, and high-value products such as crab are in increasing demand.
Russian seafood producers are now seeking approval to access new markets, including India, South Africa, and broader regions of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. This article explores Russia’s seafood production, its current export landscape, and how the industry is likely to evolve over the next 5–10 years.
Russia’s seafood output
The key species harvested in Russian waters include pollock, Pacific salmon, sardine, herring, cod, haddock, flatfish, sprat, and Baltic herring. According to the Federal Agency for Fishery of the Russian Federation (Rosrybolovstvo), the total fish catch in 2024 reached 4.9 million tonnes.
Russia’s Key Seafood Harvest in 2024 (tonnes, % change YoY)
Source: All-Russian Association of Fishery Enterprises (VARPE)
The Russian Far East accounts for 76% of the national seafood harvest, with this region traditionally contributing two thirds of the total catch. Russian fishing fleets operate in exclusive economic zones, the high seas, convention-regulated areas, and foreign waters under bilateral agreements. Russia also grants some foreign nations fishing rights in its own territorial waters.
According to VARPE president German Zverev, Russia has around 70 active fishery agreements with neighbouring states, serving to regulate quotas, fishing rules for specific areas, biodiversity conservation efforts, and measures against illegal fishing.
A major trend in Russia’s seafood industry is the growing share of processed seafood products such as fillets, surimi, fishmeal, and fish oil. In 2023, this form of seafood accounted for 32% of total fish output, and this figure continues to grow, increasing by 9 percentage points in 2024. Russia is also expanding its production of cod fillets and introducing clipfish (salted, dry cod)—a product that is relatively new to the domestic market but widely recognised and in high demand in several international markets.
The share of processed seafood is projected to rise to 50% by 2030, in line with the industry’s development strategy and in order to meet global demand. The demand for fishmeal and fish oil is also rising worldwide, with market analysts forecasting a nearly twofold increase by 2033 compared to 2023 levels.
“High protein content is the key factor driving demand for fishmeal. Producing high-protein fishmeal and premium fish oil requires modern processing equipment, which is now in place or being installed at new coastal factories and on fishing vessels in Russia,” explains Alexey Osintsev, President of Fishery Shipowners Association. “However, exporting fish oil remains logistically challenging. Specialised vessels are required to collect fish oil at sea and transport it for further processing.”
Aquaculture on the rise
Over the past decade, Russia’s aquaculture sector has more than doubled, reaching 380,600 tonnes in 2024. Salmon farming has seen significant expansion, with annual output rising by an average of 15% since 2019. Salmonids, carps, molluscs and sturgeons are the primary species reared.
By 2030, the government aims to increase aquaculture production to 600,000 tonnes. However, the sector remains heavily dependent on imported fish feed, equipment, and skilled labour, presenting key challenges for future growth.
Domestic consumption trends
Seafood consumption in Russia remains modest, accounting for just 2.1% of the average grocery basket in 2023. According to the Federal Agency for Fishery of the Russian Federation (Rosrybolovstvo), the average Russian consumes 22.6 kilogrammes of fish per year, below the government’s recommended 28 kilogrammes per capita.
Limited seafood consumption is attributed to relatively high prices, especially for fresh fish, as well as a lack of deep-rooted culinary traditions favouring seafood.
Survey data reveals that Russians would like to purchase more chilled fresh fish (61%), red caviar (41%), and smoked fish (36%), as well as frozen and live fish. However, canned, frozen, and chilled fish remain the top-selling categories in supermarkets, according to analytics firm NTech.
Russia’s domestic fish consumption for the last 10 years (kg per capita)
Source: Rybny Souz
Exports and market expansion
In 2023, Russian seafood exports grew by 8.6%, reaching 2.56 million tonnes. However, the total export value fell by 5% to $5.8 billion due to lower prices. China accounted for half of Russia’s seafood exports, both in volume and revenue terms. According to VARPE, 90% of Russia’s seafood export earnings come from just four key markets:
By 2030, Russia aims to boost seafood exports to $8.85 billion (the target figure of the Ministry of Agriculture is $8.5 billion). Russia will also be shifting its seafood exports towards friendly countries. The European market share is expected to decline by 6.5%, while exports to China, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are projected to expand significantly. Shipments to the Middle East alone could increase fivefold within five years.
German Zverev,
VARPE President:
India is emerging as a promising new market for Russian surimi. The country is set to lower its import duty on frozen fish paste from 30% to 5% when the country’s 2025/26 fiscal budget comes in, which will encourage local processing and the re-export of value-added, surimi-based products like crab sticks, imitation crab claws, and shrimp and lobster substitutes. In the wild-caught surimi segment, our only real competitor is the United States. However, Russia enjoys a logistical advantage over the U.S. in supplying India, which strengthens our position in this growing market.
More broadly, our seafood producers are looking to expand exports to India across a wide range of products. India is a major seafood processing hub, and we have an opportunity to provide high-quality wild-caught fish for further processing. This includes frozen pollock, cod, salmon, and pelagic species. With demand for premium seafood products rising in India’s domestic market, we also see potential in exporting wild shrimp, squid, and scallops. Meanwhile, fish by-products and fishmeal remain promising export categories.
All whitefish species—including Atlantic and Pacific cod, haddock, and pollock—are in high demand on international markets. Russian companies expanding into emerging economies, particularly in Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, and, to some extent, the Middle East.
Russian seafood producers are also seeking regulatory approvals to enter new markets, with India, and South Africa among their key targets. According to Alexander Panin, chairman of the Russian Fish Union, the certification process for Russian seafood exports is in its final stages.
India, despite being the world’s second-largest seafood exporter, is also a promising importer for Russian seafood and fish. The country currently supplies 8% of the world’s seafood exports but is steadily increasing its seafood imports.
In 1990, India imported just 1,656 tonnes of seafood, but by 2019, this had surged to 39,525 tonnes—both for domestic consumption and for processing and re-export (5–10% of imports). In 2023, India’s seafood imports were valued at $159.3 million.
India’s top seafood export markets (2023, % share, $US)
Source: TrendEconomy, 2023
India’s top seafood import sources (2023, % share, $US)
Source: TrendEconomy, 2023
According to market analysts, India’s seafood import patterns have changed significantly over the past 25 years. While fresh fish (not filleted) once dominated imports, the country has now shifted towards frozen seafood, fillets, and other processed products, including pollock-based surimi. Additionally, crab imports have surged, accounting for nearly one-third of India’s seafood imports by volume and value in 2019. And the Russian fishing industry can provide India with its most sought-after products.
According to the Russian Fishery Company, Russia’s top seafood exports include:
However, when measured by export value, the composition shifts:
Analysts from SberIndia predict that ultra-processed seafood will become an even larger share of Russian exports in the coming years. Higher margins on value-added products will drive revenue growth, rather than an increase in sheer export volumes.
For those considering investment in Russia’s seafood industry, a detailed guide on navigating partnerships, business registration, and market entry strategies can be found in our article on “Investing in the future: how to enter the Russian market”.
Investment and modernisation in the Russian fishing industry
Russia plans to increase total seafood production to 6 million tonnes by 2030, largely through its investment quota programme, which links fishing rights to investment in fleet modernisation and seafood processing infrastructure.
Opportunities for Foreign Investors
Foreign investors looking to engage in Russia’s seafood sector may find opportunities in:
Since 2017, fishing quotas have been allocated in exchange for the construction of new fishing vessels at domestic shipyards and processing plants in coastal areas.
The programme has financed the construction of 138 fishing and crab-fishing vessels, as well as 36 coastal processing facilities.
Key developments:
Among the vessels being built under the investment quota programme are crab-processing ships equipped with onboard freezing facilities. These vessels represent a long-term strategic investment in Russia’s crab sector, supporting the expansion of frozen crab exports.
However, implementation has faced delays due to fluctuations in the rouble and supply chain disruptions following the withdrawal of several foreign manufacturers. In response, Russian seafood producers are seeking alternative suppliers from other countries.
“The transition is ongoing. Vessels are being redesigned to incorporate alternative equipment, particularly for ship engines, which can no longer be imported. Russian manufacturers are also ramping up the production of fish-finding and navigation systems. Equipment buyers are now actively engaged in the research and development process, and several companies in the Association of Fishing Fleet Owners have already established working relationships with domestic suppliers,” says Osintsev from FSA.