New Delhi, Dec 4—Russia announced it’s ready to import more fish and meat from India and the two governments agreed to deepen cooperation in new aquaculture technologies, including deep‑sea fishing vessels. The talks were held between India’s Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairy, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, and Russia’s Agriculture Minister Oxana Lut during a meeting at Krishi Bhawan.
Both sides discussed expanding trade in fisheries, animal and dairy products, tackling market‑access hurdles, and speeding up export‑listing procedures. They also focused on joint research, education, and emerging aquaculture technologies, such as deep‑sea vessels and advanced processing methods, as noted by a post‑meeting statement.
Singh highlighted opportunities for India to diversify its exports to Russia with shrimp, prawns, mackerel, sardines, tuna, crab, squid, and cuttlefish. Russia expressed enthusiasm to import fish and fishery products, meat, and meat products, and showed interest in developing a trout market through a joint technical project that could evolve into joint ventures. The statement added that India exported fish and fishery items worth $7.45 billion in 2024‑25, including $127 million to Russia.
Lut explained that Russia is prepared to cooperate in fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy, building on a strong track record of agricultural collaboration. She noted that some products are produced in Russia while others come from India, and that each country can supply the goods the other needs to strengthen trade. She also pointed out that India remains the second‑largest shrimp exporter to Russia.
Singh thanked Russia for adding 19 Indian fisheries establishments to its Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS) platform, bringing the total to 128. He urged the Russian minister to expedite the inclusion of remaining establishments, update activity details regularly, and lift temporary restrictions. He also called for swift approvals for Indian dairy, buffalo‑meat and poultry entities and pledged full cooperation from the Indian side.
On dairy, the minister noted that 12 Indian companies—including AMUL (the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation)—await registration with FSVPS and requested Russia to consider approving these for listing.
Both parties agreed to work on cold‑water fisheries, especially trout, and on genetic improvement in fisheries and aquaculture. They will facilitate the exchange of experts, researchers and students. India proposed setting up a structured mechanism to advance cooperation and asked Russia to finalize and sign the draft MoU already shared.
Finally, Lut underscored Russia’s interest in partnering with India on veterinary vaccine development, equipment manufacturing, and animal disease management. She stressed expanding collaboration at universities and research institutes, encouraging joint courses, student and academic exchanges, and shared innovation in advanced technologies.
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