39 Indian firms get Russian nod for seafood export

Lifting the ban on seafood imports from India imposed in June this year, Russia has granted a formal approval to 39 Indian seafood processing companies to export marine products to the country. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS), the Russian agency that regulates imports of food products, has announced the list of companies getting the export permission.

This is a follow-up to the trade protocol signed between the Russian Federation and India in July this year. The Russian agency and the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of veterinary inspection of fish, fishery and sea products and prevention of any kind of fraud in the trade of marine products.

The MoU says that all marine products processing companies, fishing vessels and cold storages should get the approval from FSVPS to export products to the country. EIC should guarantee that the companies have met all the quality standards and should also be responsible for periodical inspection of processing establishments, vessels and cold storages.

FSVPS would also have the right to conduct random quality inspection of the seafood items imported from India, the MoU said.

Russia had banned seafood imports from India in June this year. In July, Leena Nair, chairperson of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), visited Russia and sorted out the contentious issues. Consequently, a trade protocol was signed and Russia lifted the ban. Seafood export to Russia had grown 110 per cent in 2008-09. Total exports were 4,500 tonnes valued at Rs 35 crore in 2007-08, which went up to 9,400 tonnes valued at Rs 115 crore in 2008-09.