Russia increases crab exports to China 25% to over 25,000 tonnes in H1 - Fish Union

MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Russia exported over 25,000 tonnes of crabs to China in the first half of 2026, up 25% year-on-year, and increased revenue from these exports by more than a third to $697 million, the Russian Fish Union reported based on an analysis of data from China's General Customs Administration.

The union said that demand for crabs in China was growing, partly due to urbanization, which has affected almost 68% of the population. Now, around 1 billion Chinese city dwellers can afford to buy crab products through modern retail channels and restaurants.

The union reported that exports of live crabs from Russia to China had increased 22% to 22,000 tonnes and 28% in value terms to $620 million in H1. "Russia's share in Chinese imports of live cold-water crabs is consistently increasing, from 56% in January-June 2023 to 81% in January-June 2026, and this is almost 9 times more than the next supplier in the ranking, the U.S.," the statement reads.

In H1, the U.S. shipped 2,500 tonnes of live crabs to China, up 35%, for $46 million, up 15%. Shipments from Canada fell 55% to 1,400 tonnes and 56% to $31 million. Imports from the UK increased 3% in weight terms and 6% in value terms to 700 tonnes for $8.3 million, and from South Korea they decreased 33% and 45% respectively to 600 tonnes for $5.3 million.

The Fish Union also said that exports of frozen crabs from Russia to China increased 47% to 3,500 tonnes and 2.2-fold in value terms to $77 million in H1.

"Russia's share in Chinese imports of frozen cold-water crabs in January-June 2026 increased by 4 percentage points year-on-year and is only slightly below the figures for January-June 2023, which indicates that there are prospects for growth. It should be taken into account that re-exports of Russian crabs may make up part of the South Korean shipments to China," the union wrote.

According to the report, South Korea increased exports of frozen crab to China 1.6-fold to 1,300 tonnes and 2.1-fold in value terms to $4.3 million.

The UK also exported 400 tonnes of frozen crabs to China for $3.3 million, down 19% and 2% respectively. The U.S exported 50 tonnes for $1.1 million, up 1.5-fold and 1.4-fold respectively. Exports from Canada fell to 15 tonnes for $0.25 million.