Potential of Russian fish exports to Brazil exceeds 32,000 tonnes per year - VARPE
MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax) - Russian fishing companies continue to explore new sales markets, including Brazil, where the first batches of products have already been sent, the Russian Fisheries Association (VARPE) told Interfax.
A study showed that the potential of Russian fish exports to Brazil is 32,300 tonnes per year, VARPE said. This market is promising for supplies of cod, pollock, herring, Pacific salmon and deep-processed products.
The year 2025 was a turning point in Russian-Brazilian seafood trade, with Russian companies supplying the first batches of salted-dried cod (klippfisk) amounting to around 50 tonnes, VARPE's press service cited the association's president German Zverev as saying. "This is a very good start," he said.
Among the suppliers is the Karelian holding K-Flot, which in the space of a year not only completed the certification process of its new fleet to meet the requirements of the Brazilian veterinary authority, DIPOA, but also began exporting.
Brazil's culinary traditions are largely similar to those of its former metropolis, Portugal, where the traditional fish dish is "bacalhau" or klippfisk, Zverev said. "The country imports this product either in ready-made form or processes it at its own plants from imported raw materials. Since Russia is the largest harvester of cod in the world, we have every opportunity to become a top supplier of cod products to the Brazilian market, both raw materials and deep-processed products," he said.
Citing data from the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), the association said that 61 Russian companies currently have the right to export fish products to the Brazilian market. In January, three new vessels received this right, among them the trawler Sergei Bochkarev (the company Sofco, a member of VARPE).
According to VARPE, Brazil does not yet send fish products to the Russian market, but the first Brazilian companies will be able to obtain the right to export this year.
As reported, Rosselkhoznadzor specialists will conduct online inspections of five Brazilian fish processing enterprises in February 2026. "A number of companies interested in supplying fish products to the Russian market will be inspected in person in the third quarter of 2026," Rosselkhoznadzor said. "If they pass the inspections, they will be able to import a wide range of fish goods into Russia."
