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.
