By the end of the year, Russia may reach full self-sufficiency in oysters
Last year, Russia imported more than 400 tons of shellfish from Morocco, New Zealand and Japan. Previously, large purchases were also made in the American and American federations. From Russian oysters representing the Crimean and Far Eastern
By the end of the year, Russia may reach full self-sufficiency in oysters, and consumption volumes will amount to 5,000 tons. To this conclusion came Rosselkhozbank experts studying, producing and consuming oysters in Russia.
Last year, Russia imported more than 400 tons of mollusks from Morocco, New Zealand and Japan; earlier, large purchases were also made in Europe and the USA.
Is it possible to realize such a forecast? comments director of the Crimean mussel and oyster farm “Yakhont” Sergey Kulik:
– The conditions are around the Crimea – 120 days a year working, in the rest the sea is stormy.
– Is it possible to place for import if we take the Crimean and Far Eastern oysters together?
– The Far East also has its own specifics, especially this year, for example, in the Far East there was a lot of rain and high temperatures, desalination of the sea. And I spoke with a company that harvests oysters, they have 80% of their products lost this year, so it doesn’t happen year after year. But the volume of resources will be consumed sooner or later, and there will be a moment when production will be less than consumption. Therefore, I would not talk about such bright prospects that we will completely arrange import substitution in a year or two. I can do this for 17 years and say that there are a lot of pitfalls and risks in this industry, and, like in agriculture, one year is empty, one year is dense, that is, we depend on climatic conditions.
According to the Federal Agency for Fishery, Primorsky Krai accounts for the bulk of oyster production — 4,200 tons last year, an increase of 84% in two years. Now the season of this product is about to begin. He speaks the basis of the network of enterprises “Meat and Fish” Sergey Mironov:
– Moroccan oyster is expensive, they don’t take much. We have farmed black oysters, the quantity of their crop, but the price is too high and often low quality. The problem is that the black oyster is grown in nearby places, hence, because of the black grown oysters, a huge number of infections, this is also a whole problem. Today, the most common oyster in Russia, which I am happy to buy in restaurants, is a wild oyster from the Far East. But there are also problems with it – seasonality. There is a season when she is caught, because she has a breeding season, there is a season when there are storms, something freezes, that is, she is also not eaten all year round, so I would not share this optimism.
– Now what is in restaurants with oysters, where do they come from?
– First of all, then the Far Eastern oyster, the Moroccan oyster and our Russian black oyster are already on the way. A Far Eastern oyster costs half as much as a Moroccan one.
In the menu of the Meat and Fish restaurant, Far Eastern oysters cost from 340 to 370 rubles, depending on the taste. In other institutions of the capital, the price range is from 175 to 900 rubles apiece.
Wild oysters from the Russian Far East are large in size and do not lend themselves to international quality. For example, the weight of a Khasan oyster can reach 400 grams, while the favorite French Finn de Claire oysters are reached all over the world and weigh only 60-80 grams, a gram costs three times the price. On wholesale sites, about 500 rubles apiece. The price of Moroccan oysters in the same place is about 300 rubles.