This happened due to coronavirus restrictions in China, ports receiving fish were closed.
Russian fishing companies lost 400 million dollars in 2021 only on pollock due to the closed ports of China. We are talking about 35 companies, which account for 78% of the pollock catch in Russia. Such data is provided by the Association of Pollock Producers.
China began closing its ports for Russian fishermen in October 2020, after traces of coronavirus were found on the packaging of fish from Russia. The last port was closed in December 2020. Thus, the restrictions were in effect for more than a year.
After lengthy negotiations, the reception of Russian fish in bulk at the Chinese ports of Dalian and Qingdao resumed in January 2022.
Recall that before the pandemic, most of the pollock harvested in Russia was exported and its main buyer was China, which accounted for about 60% of this commercial fish sent abroad.