The Russian government has approved the exemption of customs duties on seafood exports for specific regions.

The Federal government passed Decree No. 168, which exempted some seafood produced in the western Kaliningrad enclave from customs duties.

The exemption applies to 4,400 tons of canned fish and 100 tons of other seafood produced in the Kaliningrad region. Decree No. 168 entered into force on February 22 and is valid until December 31, 2024.

Rosrybolovstvo, the Russian fisheries Administration, said the exemption policy supports domestic seafood producers, enabling local companies to maintain export operations and export-related profit margins. The agency said the decision was made after there was an adequate supply of canned fish.

In January, Russian authorities lowered new export tariffs on seafood from 7 percent in November. The Russian Ministry of Economic Development announced that from February 1 to February 29, 2024, the export duty applicable to seafood will be set at 4.5%.

In September 2023, Russia introduced new export tariffs that apply to a wide range of products, including seafood. These new tariffs are pegged to the ruble/dollar exchange rate and will be in effect until the end of 2024.

The new export tariffs cover fish, crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates, but exclude sturgeon roe and alternative caviar made from fish eggs.

Russian seafood industry groups have repeatedly expressed concern that the new tariffs could adversely affect seafood exports and weaken the position of local suppliers in some important foreign markets.

According to the Russian National Fisheries Association (VARPE), the new tariffs will cost the Russian fisheries sector 10 billion to 12 billion rubles ($113 million to $135 million).

At a meeting in Khabarovsk in January, Russian Crab Group CEO Alexander Sapozhnikov complained to President Vladimir Putin that Russian seafood companies were being unfairly treated in connection with foreign trade tariffs.

"At present, the import tax rate for imported fish is between zero and 5 percent," Sabozhnikov told Putin. "In addition, Russian export duties imposed on exported seafood are 50 percent higher than import duties on imported fish."