Russia To Approve New Indian Fisheries For Domestic Consumer Market

Russia is processing approvals of nearly 25 Indian fishery companies, with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal saying the approval will enable them to begin exports to Russia. Moscow aims to address the growing trade imbalance with India during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip next month.

India’s exports to Russia are worth US$5 billion, while imports from Russia amount to US$64 billion. The countries are aiming to increase bilateral trade to US$100 billion by 2030. Helping Indian companies export more to Russia will create a better balanced trade and currency budget, with Russia possessing high levels of rupees it has earned from its energy exports but with limited scope to return them.

Goyal said on Tuesday that India is in talks with several countries, including Russia, to diversify its shrimp and fish exports. Indian shrimp exports, for example, have been hit hard after the US imposed 50% tariffs.

India exported shrimp worth US$4.88 billion in 2024-25, accounting for 66% of its total seafood exports. Shrimp export volumes are expected to shrink by 15-18% this fiscal year, ratings agency Crisil said in a report after the US tariffs were imposed, with India eyeing the potential of the Russian market to take up some of this slack.

According to Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishery of the Russian Federation (Rosrybolovstvo), the average Russian consumes 22.6 kg of fish per year, below the government’s recommended 28 kg per capita, suggesting there is considerable market growth in supplying Russia with fish and seafood products.