The European Union likely imported at least $700 million of seafood from China using Russian raw material in 2023. 

As the "rumblings" grow in the sector of the European Commission (EC) discussing some type of ban on Russian seafood in the future, Undercurrent News' trade portal tool can be used to highlight how high the stakes are. 

An estimate using Undercurrent's portal shows that the total direct and indirect imports of Russian fish for the EU 27 in 2023 are around $1.65bn, comprised of $955m coming in directly and $699m from China. The estimate is based only on looking at Chinese imports and cod, haddock, pollock and salmon fillets, so the volume could be larger. 

The top four product categories in the $955m of direct imports are pollock, cod, Pacific salmon and haddock fillets.

Frozen pollock fillets (030475, yellow on the chart above) 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. The chart also shows EU imports of frozen haddock fillets (0303472, in green) and Pacific salmon fillets (030481, in red). 

The estimate of the EU's imports of $699m from China in 2023 is based on the latter's raw material imports from Russia. On pollock, 94% of China's imports of 580,535t in 2023 are from Russia, as the chart below shows. 

So, it stands to reason around the same percentage of China's pollock fillet exports to the EU of 142,470t worth $489.04m would be using Russian fish. So, that gives an estimate of 133,921t worth $460m.

Then, on cod, 66% of China's raw material imports of 123,964t are from Russia.

Applying the 66% level to China's exports of cod fillets to the EU gives an estimate of $126m worth 17,509t, being from Russia. Below, you can see the total RU cod imports from China and others. 

For haddock and Pacific salmon fillets, China imports 61% and 59% of its raw material from Russia, respectively. Assuming exports are around the same level, estimates of $94m and 11,304t for Pacific salmon fillets and $19m and 2,588t for haddock fillets are given.

Strong May imports 

EC trade with Russia on pollock has picked up recently, according to the latest import data. 

In fact, in May, the most recent month available on Undercurrent's trade portal, Russia was the main supplier of fillets to Germany, with 3,805t at a rock-bottom average price of $2,641/t.

The US was next, with Germany bringing in 3,206t at an average price of $3,377/t. Germany had been the main supplier in 2024, following the record imports of December 2023 to beat Russia's removal from the ATQs.

Russian fillet import prices have continued to fall since, according to data through week 28 (July 8-14) from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products, known as EUMOFA, on the Undercurrent prices portal. In week 28, according to the EUMOFA data, the average Russian pollock fillet import price was $2.39/kg, just below Chinese at $2.47/kg and far behind the US at $3.79/kg.