The European Commission (EC) is discussing including an import ban on Russian fish in the next round of sanctions, according to Die Welt, a German newspaper.
Political observers expect discussions on this issue in the EC after the summer break, reports Die Welt.
"After all, this question dominates the way we deal with the country: Should Russia continue to be allowed to use revenue from exports of foodstuffs, for example, to finance its war of aggression against Ukraine? And should EU companies be allowed to make money from Russian fish, for example?" according to Die Welt.
The article states that "fresh fish" -- or Frischfisch -- is being discussed as part of the possible ban. However, no Russian fresh fish is imported into the EU; frozen cod, haddock and pollock are the main commodities, both directly and after processing in China.
Pollock is the main product, both single frozen fillets directly imported and double frozen fillets via China, with Germany as the main market.
One Undercurrent News industry source speculated the article could mean unprocessed fish rather than fresh.
"I guess they meant unprocessed fish. Indeed, all Alaska pollock imports to the EU are frozen -- 100%," he said.
Even looking only at direct imports, the EU brought in 198,576 metric tons of fish from Russia in 2023, worth close to $1 billion, as the chart below from the Undercurrent trade portal shows.
Frozen pollock fillets (030475, yellow on the chart below) are the main category, with 70,587t imported in 2023 worth $264m. Frozen cod fillets are next (030471 on the chart below, in blue), with 22,662t imported worth $194.55m. This data does not include Russian headed and gutted (H&G) fish going to China for processing, then coming back as fillets. The chart also shows EU imports of frozen haddock fillets (0303472, in green) and Pacific salmon fillets (030481, in red).
As the data below from the Undercurrent prices portal shows, Russian pollock fillets are trading well below the US and even the Chinese double-frozen. The data is up to week 28 and takes average import levels at the EU border. Undercurrent collects the data from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products, known as EUMOFA, which in turn collects it from the European Commission.
"I'm not surprised, having read the G7 talk on unfair competition from Russia from June," the source told Undercurrent.
On June 18, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a joint statement in which they expressed concern about Russia's seafood sourcing and trading practices.
Under the heading of "Energy, Climate and Environment," the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States briefly declare, "We express concern about Russia's environmentally unsustainable and unfair trading practices regarding fish and seafood products."
This year, the US banned all imports of Russian fish, including frozen fillets of cod, pollock and salmon which have gone to China and other countries for processing in H&G form. In 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, the US had banned direct imports from Russia.
At the start of 2024, the EC removed Russia from its anonymous tariff quota (ATQ) scheme, which allowed raw material for processing to come in at 0% from countries the EC does not have trade agreements with. All Russian fish, including Chinese-processed products, was removed from the ATQs on Jan. 1. For pollock fillets, this now means a tariff of 13.7%.
Contact the author [email protected]
Comments (0)
To view or post comments, simply
Already registered? Log in here:
Enter the email address associated with your account. We'll send you instructions to reset your password.
We’ve sent a link to to change your password.
Please check your inbox to reset your password securely and easily.