The port of Arkhangelsk on Russia’s northern coast expects to see a growing supply of fish from the Far East this year. According to the regional director Igor Orlov, negotiations are in progress to bring more raw material to Arkhangelsk from the Russian Far East.
‘Last year we received 3000 tonnes of fish from the Far East, this year we expect growth of up to 10,000 tonnes,’ he said, adding that the raw material will be processed in Arkhangelsk and supplied to markets in the European part of Russia.
Federal Fisheries Agency deputy head confirmed that Arkhangelsk could become a centre for transshipment and processing of fish from the Far East.
‘The question is who will be the first to take over; Arkhangelsk, Murmansk or St. Petersburg,’ he said.
‘Arkhangelsk has the advantage of proximity to the Far East, which makes it is important from the point of view of economics and logistics.’
He stressed that for the processing of Far Eastern fish in the region could result in more processing facilities being built.
‘Additional plants may appear, because products that come from the Far East, pollock, herring, salmon, need to be processed.’
The first transport with frozen fish from the Far East came to Arkhangelsk along the Northern sea route from Vladivostok in August 2017.
Freighter Harmony delivered 3000 tonnes of frozen pink, sockeye and, chum salmon, shipped from the Southern Sea Fish Base, a part of the Dobroflot group.
Harmony delivered a fifth of the total amount of fish shipped to Arkhangelsk for the whole of 2016, with shipping by sea via the Northern sea route chosen as an alternative to rail transport.
