Russian Federal Fisheries Agency Rosrybolovstvo head Ilya Shestakov. (Photo: Stock File)
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Thursday, August 21, 2014, 02:50 (GMT + 9)
The import ban on food imposed by the Russian government earlier this month has led those affected countries to consider possible alternatives to offset the situation.
And the search of ways of dodging the sanctions In view of the suspicions through re-exporting products to other markets seems to be one of the options considered by some entrepreneurs.
In view of the suspicions that "some unscrupulous importers" may be attempting to re-export the fish to profit from the situation, Russian Federal Fisheries Agency Rosrybolovstvo head Ilya Shestakov warned Russian competent authorities such as the veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor and the Federal Customs Service (FCS) will monitor such cases and check the products’ certificates of origin.
The agency informed that fresh fish might be exported to Russia from the Faroe Islands, Turkey and Tunisia.
“The Faroe islands can export chilled salmon, though not in the volumes we imported from Norway,” Shestakov told Rossiya 24 TV channel. Furthermore, he said Turkey and Tunisia could supply other chilled fishes.
Besides, mullus barbatus ponticus and Black Sea turbot would be supplied to Russian shops from Crimea, Itar-Tass informed.
One of the most seriously affected countries following the Russian boycott is Norway. Large premium Norwegian salmon producers, such as Salmar, had been exporting up to 10 per cent of their fish to Russia. Norway Royal Salmon has also sold much of its production to the country, which along with France have been Norway’s largest individual national markets, News in English informed.
Thus, the Norwegian government has promised to help the country’s huge salmon industry find new buyers for its fish like Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Funnelling Norwegian salmon through Iceland or the Færoe Islands, which are not members of the European Union and thus not subject to Russia’s boycott could be a way of dodging the sanctions. Besides, the biggest Norwegian salmon producers, Marine Harvest and Cermaq, which have major operations in Chile, could send fish to Russia.
However, for Trond Davidsen, of the fish-farming trade association FHL, this plan is “unrealistic."
"We’ve been living with strict controls from Russia for several years now. If salmon comes into Russia from Chile, the Færoes or the UK, it’s produced there,” he argued.
Meanwhile, foreign businesses located in Russia may also face issues after the Russian import ban. This is the case of the Swedish retailer IKEA, which will stop selling Norwegian salmon - among other products - at its Russian stores.
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