Russia’s major importer makes projections for domestic capelin supply in 2021
Russia’s major importer Defa Group has made projections for domestic capelin supply in 2021 which this year is witnessing a return of Atlantic capelin extra to the country’s own catch in the Russian Far East, reports Megafishnet.com.
Quotas 2021
According to Defa Group, the overall quotas issued in the ATLANTIC for 2021 amount to 127 KT breaking down as follows:
- Norway − 42 KT
- Iceland − 70 KT
- Greenland – 9 KT
- Faroe Islands − 6 KT
However, due to the Russian counter sanctions, only Greenland and the Faroes are allowed to export HSC 03 fish to the country, limiting potential maximum imports to 15 thousand metric tons in 2021. Yet, the roe capelin making up approximately a half of the catch will normally go to Japan leaving only the remainder open to the Russian importers.
According to Defa Group, Russia has so far imported ca. 7KT with another 2-3 thousand metric tons to follow shortly winding up the imports for the year.
Pacific capelin
The capelin fishery in the Russian Far East is starting in April and it is too early to predict actual harvest volumes. However, the fish caught in this area is said to have a number of disadvantages as regards packing, sizes, lack of grading, high rejection rate and sand inputs.
In any case, the market is bracing for short supply and continued high prices for 2021 with the outlook beyond still unclear in the Barents Sea.