In 2024, Armenia increased its fish production to 27,000 tons

ArmInfo. In 2024, Armenia  increased its fish production to 27 thousand tons, which is 5% higher  than the same period last year. Of this volume, over 50% (15 thousand  tons) was exported, as stated by Gor Grigoryan, Director of the Union  of Fish Farmers of Armenia, during a press conference on March 13.

He noted that the main markets for our fish products are the Russian  Federation, the UAE, and the USA.  Touching upon the recently  obtained permission to export fish to the EU, which was achieved as a  result of 8-year negotiations between the Inspection Bodies of  Armenia and the EU, he noted that 15 thousand tons of fish product  exports is not a random figure. Grigoryan emphasized that this is a  consequence of painstaking, hard work, since the criteria that apply  to export to the EU are also in place in the Russian Federation, the  UAE and the United States. At the same time, Grigoryan emphasized  that export to the EU is not an end in itself. In this regard, he  noted that the European market needs to be studied, as it is quite  complex. He pointed out the high competition that Armenian fish  farmers will have to face. In this regard, the expert noted that fish  products from Denmark, Norway and Belgium cover 80% of the EU market.  In addition to quality, our business entities, in his opinion, will  have to compete with European producers in price - the high cost of  air transportation will directly affect the cost of Armenian fish  products.

Taking the above into account, Grigoryan noted that the Union is  closely cooperating with the Ministry of Economy to discuss various  support mechanisms for fish farmers in light of logistical  difficulties. During a press conference, Deputy Head of the Food  Safety Inspectorate Tigran Petrosyan spoke about the procedure for  exporting Armenian fish to the European market. According to him,  business entities will first need to register in the EU Traces (Trade  Control and Expert System), then undergo a laboratory examination,  receive the necessary certificate and only then organize export  deliveries. The EU market for Armenian fish products will officially  open on March 16 this year. 

At the same time, Petrosyan reported that negotiations are currently  underway with European partners regarding the export of Armenian meat  products to the EU. He expressed hope that  an agreement will be  reached on this issue as well within two years. Head of the Livestock  Department of the Ministry of Economy, Tigran Aleksanyan, in turn,  added that if demand in the European market increases, the  department's assistance programs will allow for doubling and even  tripling production volumes without harming water basins. <Our  programs will not only increase production and export volumes, but  will also create jobs,> the representative of the Ministry of  Economic Development noted.

Note  that according to the RA Customs Service, in the first half of  2024, Armenia exported 102.9 tons of live fish (with an annual  decline of 16.8%), with a customs value of $ 1.1 million (with a  negligible decline over the year). Fresh or chilled - over 2 thousand  tons (an increase of 19.5% over the year) with a customs value of $  14.1 million (an annual increase of 0.2%). Frozen fish amounted to  1.2 thousand tons (a decline of 25.4% over the year) with a customs  value of $ 5.5 million (a decline over the year of 0.3%). Processed  fish totaled 257.8 tons (an annual increase of 67.7%) with a customs  value of $ 284 thousand (an annual decline of 0.4%). Over 80% of  Armenian fish products are exported to the Russian market.