In a significant boost for India's agricultural exports, Russia has expressed strong interest in importing fishery and meat products from India. The proposal for enhanced collaboration was discussed during a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, December 5, 2024.
High-Level Talks on Agricultural Trade
The discussions took place between Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan 'Lalan' Singh, and the visiting Russian Agriculture Minister, Oksana Lut. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.
A statement from the Indian ministry confirmed that the Russian delegation clearly signaled its readiness to import Indian fish and meat products. Beyond simple trade, Moscow showed keen interest in a technical collaboration for jointly developing the trout market, which could pave the way for future joint ventures between companies of the two nations.
Expanding the Trade Basket and Resolving Hurdles
The ministers discussed a broad agenda to strengthen bilateral ties in the agricultural sector. Key focus areas included expanding trade in fisheries, animal husbandry, and dairy products. Both sides emphasized the need to resolve existing market access issues and to fast-track the establishment listings required for Indian export facilities to ship products to Russia.
Minister Singh highlighted the potential to diversify India's export basket to Russia beyond current items. He pointed to species like shrimp, prawns, mackerel, sardines, tuna, and crab as having significant potential. This is against the backdrop of India's total fishery exports reaching $7.45 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, with Russia accounting for $127 million of that total.
Blueprint for Future Cooperation
The talks also ventured into long-term strategic partnerships. The two nations explored collaborations in research, education, and emerging aquaculture technologies. This includes potential cooperation in areas like deep-sea fishing vessels and modern processing systems.
Minister Lut acknowledged the depth of the existing agricultural partnership, noting that India is already Russia's second-largest supplier of shrimp. She conveyed Russia's readiness to deepen cooperation and stressed the need for a comprehensive framework to further strengthen bilateral ties across the agricultural and food production spectrum.
This dialogue marks a concrete step towards diversifying the India-Russia economic relationship, traditionally dominated by defence and energy, into the promising domain of food and agricultural trade.
