During the recent BRICS 2024 summit, bloc members backed several rapprochement projects, including some that could reshape the global fish market

Russia sees great potential in expanding trade relations with the 10 BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, outlined Herman Zverev, President of the All-Russian Association of Fishing Industry (Varpe) during an industry conference in September 2024. He also indicated there’s interest in boosting fish exports to emerging countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.

Reasons behind this strategy are obvious. In 2023, Russia became the world’s most sanctioned country, including multiple, severe restrictions placed on selling fish to foreign customers. At the same time, some segments of the country’s seafood industry have been hit with direct sanctions. The US crab import ban alone cost the country around US$1.2 billion in annual sales, although a part of the supply was redirected to China. Meanwhile, Varpe estimates the Russian pollock industry loses up to $210 million per year due to restrictions imposed by various countries.

Western sanctions are one of a few key factors to have caused the profitability of the seafood industry to nosedive. Varpe estimates its net profit dropped by 13% to a five-year minimum in 2023 and plunged further – by nearly a third – in the first half of 2024. Today, half of Russian fishing companies are loss-making, and it’s believed the industry’s financial health has never been so poor.

The remaining Russian fish exports to Europe are also in jeopardy. In 2024, the Baltic States called on the European Commission to consider a ban on Alaska pollock. The European Union had previously restricted imports of crustaceans, caviar and caviar substitutes under the fifth sanctions package adopted in early 2022. These aside, the EU has so far remained reluctant to put the brakes fully on Russian seafood imports.