December 23, 2013

With the exception of salmon, Russian authorities have banned the import of certain Norwegian fish species starting 2014.

The ban has taken place due to concerns about safety of the Norwegian fish products exported to Russia and a number of violations detected during documentary inspection performed this year when non-identified products, products with unreliable date of production were identified.

Moreover, inspections of Norwegian codfish and haddock-processing establishments performed by the Norwegian competent authority itself revealed that the majority of them did not even comply with the Norwegian requirements.

According to the Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service, salmon import has not been prohibited yet because those products that failed to meet its standards were eliminated.

One of the most relevant consequences of the ban is forecast to be reflected in the increase in herring prices due to a market deficit that would take place after Russian manufacturers' stocks come to an end. Besides, as a result of the ban there may be a shortage of raw material at processing factories and bring production down.

Norwegian fisheries authorities stated that out of their country's €7 billion (US$9.6 billion) seafood export business, in 2012 Russia imported products for €820 million (US$1.1 billion), being salmon the leading product (133,000 tonnes), followed by trout.

The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance remarked that the Norwegian product ban will be extended if the Norwegian competent authority takes no specific measures to rectify the current situation.