Russia increases pollock exports to Japan in 7M - Fish Union

MOSCOW. Aug 31 (Interfax) - Russia increased exports of pollock and pollock products to Japan in the first seven months of this year, the Russian Fish Union reported based on an analysis of Japanese customs statistics.

Frozen pollock exports increased 15% to 1,500 tonnes and 1.5-fold in value terms to $2.9 million. "The high prices for pollock (gutted, headless, gutted and headless) on the world market are encouraging producers to focus on production and increase exports," the report reads.

Exports of pollock fillets increased 5% to 3,000 tonnes and 15% to $13 million.

As of August 26, 75,000 tonnes of pollock fillets were produced on Russian ships at sea, up 1% year-on-year.

Pollock is the key resource of Russia's fisheries industry. The union said that the pollock harvest had increased 1.1% YoY to 1.6 million tonnes as of August 24, out of a total fish harvest exceeding 3.2 million tonnes.

The union also said that Russia's overall exports of fish and seafood to Japan amounted to 61,000 tonnes at a value of $465 million. This included 5,000 tonnes of frozen opilio crab exports for $87 million and 1,800 tonnes of frozen red king crab exports for $59 million. It did not give any comparisons with last year's indicators.

According to the report, Russia is Japan's fifth biggest supplier of fish and seafood after China, Chile, the U.S. and Vietnam, accounting for around 6% of the country's imports in weight and value terms.