News from SeafoodNews on January 26, Ilya Shestakov, director of the Russian Fisheries Agency, said at a press conference at the end of last year that the Russian government plans to abandon the export ban on salmon and trout products.

Russia banned imports of Atlantic salmon from Europe and the United States in 2014 due to the Crimea issue, and in 2022 there were insufficient catches of Pacific salmon and trout, causing domestic prices of these two products to soar.

In September last year, the Russian Fisheries Agency submitted a proposal for an export ban to ease price pressures, which was reconsidered at a government committee meeting on October 11, but was sent back for reconsideration and will be reconsidered if necessary.

The motion was sent back causing salmon and trout prices to soar.

Prices for pink salmon soared 28 percent to 320,000 rubles ($4,593) a tonne, while regular salmon rose 22 percent to 440,000 rubles ($6,315) a tonne, according to the All-Russian Association of Fisheries and Seafood Exporters.

Association president Stanislavovich Zverev warned that an "export ban" would drive up prices for suppliers who did not want to lose profits. As an alternative to the export ban, he suggested measures such as temporarily reducing import duties on seafood to zero or offering subsidies to service providers who deliver Pacific salmon and trout by rail in the country’s central and western regions.