The population of the Russian Federation is about 150 million and the Russian market with its rising purchasing power is quite sizeable. There is high demand for fish and fish products in Russia, particularly for exotic fish varieties and seafood. The 14 Sri Lankan companies which have been approved to export fish and fish products to Russia would be able to supply fish and fish products in the categories of Fresh or Chilled Fish, Frozen Fish, Fish Fillets and Other Fish Meat, and Dried or Salted Fish. According to statistics of the Russian Federal Customs Service, in 2013 Russia imported 443,014 tons of fish and fish products of these categories to the value of US$ 1581 million. During January-September 2014, Russia imported 484,000 tons of fish and fish products falling under this category to the value of US$ 1422 million.

The opportunity to export fish and fish products to the Russian market is a major achievement for the fisheries industry of Sri Lanka. Generally, the Russian authorities issue licenses to foreign companies to export food items to Russia under stringent conditions after conducting numerous checks and even making spot visits to food processing plants in foreign countries to verify compliance of quality and hygiene standards. The fact that approval has been granted to export Sri Lankan fish products to Russia is testimony to the high quality and standard of Sri Lankan fish products supplied to the international market and the confidence reposed in Sri Lankan fish exporting companies meeting the strict standards of the Russian authorities.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka said that it wishes to place on record the cooperation received from the authorities of the Russian Government for granting approval for export of fish and fish products from Sri Lanka. (KH/MEA)