Potential fish exports from Russia to China by 2030 estimated at almost $5 bln - Russian fisheries association

MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - Fish and seafood exports from Russia to China could reach an estimated $4.88 billion by 2030, the All-Russian Fisheries Association (VARPE) reported.

Russia exported $3.42 billion of fish produce to China in 2025, increasing its share in the country's fish imports to 14.4%. "Russia became the largest supplier of fish products to China in 2025 and retained its position in the first quarter of 2026. Ecuador was the previous leader and has now moved to second place," the association said based on an analysis of data from ITC Trade Map.

Russian fishermen reinforced their standing in Q1 2026, supplying China with almost $1.1 billion of fish products. Russia's share in Chinese imports grew from 13.8% to 16.2%, while Equador's share decreased from 14.6% to 14%.

VARPE head Herman Zverev was quoted in the press release as saying that China remained both a "global fish processing factory" and a global leader of luxury consumption, making it attractive for all fishing nations.

"Russia has become the first country to bring premium seafood to China, where it has established a market for live crab effectively from scratch. Today, China is the biggest consumer of this produce worldwide. Equador and Norway later followed in our footsteps," he said. "At the same time as developing domestic consumption of Russian fish products, we have been developing the export of raw materials to processing enterprises in China - frozen pollock, cod, salmon and others. This policy has allowed Russia to maintain its leadership on the Chinese market for many years. And the following strategy also helped to win it back: we increase exports of frozen pollock, herring and cod for processing, and live crabs, surimi and other advanced processing products for domestic consumption."

Zverev said that the range of products exported was also expanding and now included, for example, halibut and pollock caviar. "The potential for exports to China has not been exhausted," he said.