From January through the end of September 2014 Russian seafood imports were down by 19.2% by volume from the same period a year before according to Custom Inform. Between January and the end of August Russia imported 525,000 tons of fish and seafood compared to 625,000 tons for the same period a year before. Most of this decrease happened prior to Russia’s ban on Western agricultural imports issued in August of this year. From January through the end of July, Russian imports of fish and seafood products were down 16.5% from the same time period the year before, with March and July being the only two months where import volumes were above volume of the previous year. For Ukraine, the political crisis which erupted in the region in February has affected seafood imports in an even more serious manner. In the first nine months of 2014, total seafood imports to Ukraine equaled 212,000 tons, down from 500,000 for the same time period a year before, marking a 58% decrease.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free weekly enhanced eNews service