Russia's seafood exports to China climb 54% as pollock prices jump
Russia sold US$3.57 billion of seafood to China in January through September, 54 per cent more than the US$2.33 billion booked in the same nine months of 2025. The Russian Fishery Shipowners Association published the figure on October 20 after working through Chinese customs data. Pollock carried most of the growth, and the money came from price rather than tonnage.
The Numbers
Pollock shipments reached 565,500 tonnes, up 22 per cent year on year. Their value rose 69 per cent to US$1.07 billion, which puts the association's calculated increase in average unit value at 39 per cent.
Cod followed the same pattern with a steeper slope. Volumes grew 20 per cent to 72,700 tonnes while value climbed 71 per cent to US$581.5 million, an average unit value gain of 42 per cent. Haddock barely moved in volume, up 2 per cent to 19,500 tonnes, but revenue rose 42 per cent to US$131.6 million, with unit value up 39 per cent.
Together the three whitefish species generated about US$1.78 billion, roughly half of the entire bilateral seafood book. Crab added about US$1.07 billion, or 30 per cent of the total. Live crab reached 33,000 tonnes, up 21 per cent, for US$965.4 million, up 34 per cent. Frozen crab jumped 51 per cent in volume to 5,300 tonnes and 93 per cent in value to US$108.3 million.
Fillets tell a different story. Combined shipments of pollock, cod and haddock fillets slipped 2.6 per cent to 7,200 tonnes, but their value rose 30 per cent to US$22.4 million. A separate Fish Union analysis put first-half 2026 exports to China at close to US$2.3 billion, about 1.5 times the year-earlier figure, on volumes up 14 per cent to 723,000 tonnes. The Federal Agency for Fisheries reported in September that BRICS markets absorbed 59.2 per cent of Russian fish export volume in 2025, with China the main buyer.
All figures above come from the association's October 20 release, as reported by Baird Maritime.
What It Means for Buyers
Volume and value have decoupled. Twenty-two per cent more pollock tonnage produced 69 per cent more revenue, so anyone pricing H&G pollock off last year's contract levels is working roughly 40 per cent below the current market.
The fillet line matters more than it looks. Chinese processors bought 2.6 per cent fewer tonnes of fillet material but paid 30 per cent more for it. That is a raw material problem being carried downstream, not a demand signal, and it usually surfaces in secondary product quotes within a quarter.
Cod's reduced 2026 total allowable catch is pulling haddock prices up, according to the Fish Union. Substitution between the two species is already priced in, so a buyer switching from cod to haddock should not expect a discount to last.
Crab is the outlier. Frozen crab value nearly doubled on a small base while live crab kept its premium, which matters if you buy cooked or frozen sections rather than live.
The practical conclusion, and this is a judgement rather than a data point: Q1 2027 coverage should be priced against current replacement cost, not against trailing twelve-month averages.
What to Watch
October Chinese customs figures, due mid-November, to see whether the 39 per cent pollock unit value gain holds.
Russia's 2027 pollock quota decision, which sets the raw material base for Chinese reprocessing.
Whether Chinese plants pass the higher raw material cost into EU and US retail programmes or cut production runs instead.
The live-to-frozen crab mix, where a 93 per cent value jump on 5,300 tonnes may not repeat.
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This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI and is published for general information only. It does not constitute trading, pricing, or investment advice, and readers should verify all figures against the original sources linked above before making commercial decisions. Content on this page is partly AI-generated. Easy Seafood makes no warranty as to its accuracy or completeness.
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