Russia's seafood import substitution policy credited for 12.2 percent drop in Q1 imports
Russia reduced imports of fresh and refrigerated fish, including fillets, by 12.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, the chairman of the public council of the Federal Fisheries Agency, Alexander Savelyev said, citing updated figures from the Federal Statistics Service.
In the first quarter of 2012, fish imports jumped 30.6%, he said. Fish imports in the first quarter of this year fell as the fish catch by Russian fishermen increased by 4.1%. Imports also declined due to an increase in prices for certain types of fish on foreign markets.
Savelyev said the process of import substitution is generally continuing on the Russian market. "We forecast that imports of fish and seafood will continue to fall in the summer period amid a seasonal drop in demand and consumption of fish and seafood," he said.