Russia and China have signed an agreement on supply of Russian crab to the Chinese market, according to recent statements of Alexander Dyaplyakov, president of the association of crab producers of the Far East.
According to Dyaplyakov, this is a historical agreement signed between the two countries as, to date, exports of Russian crab to China have been mostly illegal.
So far, Russia’s Rosrybolovstvo has started talks with the Chinese government and has completed a list of companies that will be able to export crabs to China.
It is hoped that the signing of an agreement will help solve the problem of crab poaching, as China has become one of the major destinations for illegal crab supplies from Russia. Russians say the majority of the illegal crab coming into China is re-exported to western countries.
Currently, the majority of illegal crab imports from Russia to China are supplied through North Korea. This is despite the fact that Russia has an agreement with the North Korean government to fight illegal crab supplies.
Last year, China officially imported about 3,000 metric tons of Russian crab. However, there is a possibility that the signing of an agreement will mean these figures increase and also illegal supplies reduce.
At the same time, according to Dyaplyakov, in addition to signing of an agreement with China, Russia plans to continue talks with the Asia Pacific states regarding with the establishment of a coordination center for combating illegal fishing in the region. China hopes an agreement can be signed at the beginning of 2017.
Last year was the record year in terms of crab production in Russia for the last 15 years. In 2015, 49,987t of various kinds of crab were produced in Russia, the majority of which were exported.