India and Russia on Thursday held detailed discussions on expanding bilateral trade in fish, meat and dairy products and resolving market access issues. According to an official statement, Russia has expressed keen interest in importing fishery and meat products from India, and also proposed cooperation in veterinary vaccine development and animal health management. According to PTI news, ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh held bilateral talks with Russian Agriculture Minister Oxana Lut in New Delhi.
Bilateral talks with Russian Agriculture Minister Oxana Lut
According to the statement, both the countries agreed to increase trade in fish, animal and dairy products, remove market access barriers and speed up the listing process of export establishments. The meeting also reviewed opportunities for partnership on research, education and emerging aquaculture technologies such as deep-sea fishing vessels, modern processing and high-tech aquaculture systems.
India–Russia Trade: Current Status and Prospects
Singh said India exported fishery products worth $7.45 billion in 2024-25, of which $127 million was exported to Russia. He said that there is immense potential to increase the supply of products like shrimp, mackerel, sardine, tuna, crab, squid and cuttlefish to Russia.
Russia showed interest in importing fish and meat products from India as well as launching a joint technical project to develop the trout market. This may also open up opportunities for joint ventures in the future.
FSVPS listing and key demands of India
Singh thanked Russia for recently adding 19 Indian fishery establishments to the FSVPS list, taking the total number to 128. He urged Russia to expedite listing of pending establishments, regular update of activity details and removal of temporary restrictions. Singh also informed that 12 major Indian dairy companies, including AMUL/GCMMF, are awaiting FSVPS approval, and have requested Russia to approve them expeditiously.
Cooperation on deep-sea fishing and advanced aquaculture technology
India described cooperation in deep-sea fishing vessels, Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), Biofloc technology, on-board processing and value addition as extremely important. Both countries agreed to work together on cold water fisheries (especially trout), genetic improvement of fish species and advanced aquaculture research. India requested the Russian side to quickly finalize the already drafted MoU to strengthen research cooperation.
Russia’s reaction
Russian Minister Oxana Lut said that Russia wants to further expand cooperation with India in the fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy sectors.
He said that India and Russia can fulfill each other’s needs. The products which are in demand in India can be supplied by Russia, and those which are needed by Russia can be imported from India.
He further said that Russia wants to deepen partnership with India in veterinary vaccine development, equipment manufacturing, animal disease management, and also stressed the need to increase cooperation between universities and research institutes of the two countries.
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