Finland targets Russian market

THE Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce (FRCC) is organising a trade fair in St Petersburg in April 2017 to promote the aquaculture businesses of both countries.

Russia is developing its aquaculture sector not only to replace the lost fish imports caused by the food embargo, in place since August 2014, but also to increase its share of domestic fish production.

To support the development of the industry – which aims to grow from 155,300 tonnes in 2013 to 315,000 tonnes by 2020 - the Russian ministry of agriculture approved a federal programme in January 2015 for commercial aquaculture.

The programme covers the years 2015 -2020 and is being financed from the federal budget to the tune of more than 50 million euros a year.

Russia’s aquaculture industry has shown signs of growth, with production volumes increasing by 10 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

In Karelia, the regional industry development plan for 20182020 has set a goal for 20 new fish farms for the production of salmon and trout, with annual production of 30,000 tonnes for trout and 70,000 tonnes for salmon.

And Russian Aquaculture, one of Russia’s largest seafood producers, is planning to invest 184.2 million euros in fish farming by 2020, enabling production four times bigger than today.

However, Russian fish farming facilities and equipment are outdated and there is a lack of qualified staff. There are investment and development needs throughout the whole value chain.

Finnish aquaculture companies have expertise and environment oriented fish research, high quality raw materials and new technology. Finnish industry can supply fish feeds, seeds and fertilised eggs, pond management and fish husbandry and fish farming equipment.

New energy efficient and clean technologies, such as recirculating aquaculture systems, solutions for polluted and wastewater treatment and techniques to restore endangered fish species can be offered to the Russian market. Also, aquaculture specialist education is available.