Russia: Plan to double farmed salmon production by 2030

Faced with shortages of salmon because of long-standing Russian sanctions on food imports from the EU, the US, and other countries, and corporate decisions in some countries not to export to Russia, the Russian government hopes to double the production of farmed salmon to 250,000 tonnes by 2030, which is almost double compared to the production in 2021. The proposed production target is almost two-thirds less than a 700,000-tonne target suggested by a private sector body, probably because the government recognizes there are limited supplies of fish feed available to Russian salmon farmers. Therefore, a plan to boost domestic feed supplies is required. The politics of trade sanctions are having multiple adverse effects on Russian aquaculture production and on the market. From 2014 until recently, 80% of salmon supply in Russia was represented by imported fish from Chile and the Faroe Islands, but as companies refused to ship to Russia earlier this year, imports quickly fell by more than 80% by May 2022. As a result, wholesale prices for Atlantic salmon more than doubled from RUB900-950 per 1 kg (in early February) to RUB2000 by the summer’s end, while prices for trout tripled from RUB550 to RUB1700. Prices are likely to keep rising because two-thirds of the demand in the domestic market remains unsatisfied. Both retail and restaurant businesses face a shortage of fish, but as Russian salmon production is concentrated in one region near Murmansk, it cannot meet all needs. Moreover, a significant part of the fish is exported. In addition, Murmansk trout farms traditionally go on vacation in August, which further reduced the supply of fish on the market. The development of new production of the same trout elsewhere—for example, in Karelia -has a very limited potential because of a huge problem, a shortage of fish feed. Until recently 85% of Russia’s salmon feed supply came from Finland, Norway, and Denmark. Now trout farms are forced to look for ways to bypass through Belarus and Iran. Such illegal logistics negatively affects prices, among other effects. Adding to challenges expanding salmon and trout farm production is a lack of public sector control over the activities of trout farms that pollute the water. These days, any new enterprise faces protests from local residents.