According to trade figures, EU countries buy almost a fifth more fish from Russia than before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
Despite anti-Russian sanctions, exports of Russian fish to Europe have increased markedly, writes the British edition of the Daily Express. Complications in relations with the EU have not prevented Russian fishermen from increasing their presence in the European market. The biggest buyers of Russian fish were the Netherlands, Poland and Germany.
According to trade figures, EU countries buy almost a fifth more fish from Russia than before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
Last year, fish supplies from Russia to the EU increased by 18.7% to 198,800 metric tons, according to the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE). At the same time, the value of fish exports increased by 57.6% and amounted to almost 1 billion euros.
In 2022, Russia accounted for 4.5% of the EU’s 4.4 million tonnes of fish and seafood imports. WARPE chairman German Zverev tends to attribute the increase in exports to the economy of wholesalers and processors for fear of sanctions.
Last spring, the British government was to announce a 35% tariff on Russian imports of whitefish. It was feared that a third of UK fish and chip restaurants would close as the sanctions would make popular dishes made with North Sea produce such as cod and haddock much rarer and more expensive, writes the Daily Express.
In 2022, the UK alone imported 432,000 tonnes of whitefish worth £778m, while the amount received by Russia exceeded £200m. Imports of white fish from Russia were not sanctioned, but caviar was, according to the Daily Telegraph. Some Russian vessels are even allowed to fish in British territorial waters.
By the way, in November, discontent gripped the country, when the Faroe Islands renewed a fishing agreement with Russia, giving it the right to fish tens of thousands of tons of blue whiting in an area special feature that they share with the United Kingdom. Ian Gatt, executive director of the Scottish Pelagic Fisheries Association, said: “It is hugely disappointing and surprising that the Faroe Islands have reached a 2023 fisheries deal with Russia. By this decision, they violated their moral obligations to the international community.
Recall that, unlike the situation with fish imports, EU trade with Russia has been seriously affected by the sanctions imposed on Moscow since the start of the NWO in February last year. Exports and imports have fallen well below pre-conflict levels, according to Eurostat, and in March 2022 the bloc’s trade deficit with Russia peaked at 18.2 billion euros. By the end of last year, that figure had dropped sharply to 6 billion. The value of imports from Russia in December last year fell by 53%, from 21.8 to 10.3 billion euros.
Heading “A bullet in the leg”. Russian fish imports to the EU on the rise despite the Ukrainian conflict
