MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. The Salekhard Plant (in the Yamalo-Nenets Region) will be the first company in the modern history of Yamal to export its products. The first consignment will be shipped to Belarus, the company’s press service told TASS.
The Yamalo-Nenets Region has about 750 fishing areas, where more than 10,000 tonnes of fish is produced annually. The region’s processing plants make more than 200 fish products.
"The last export supplies from the Yamalo-Nenets Region were in the pre-war and post-war years - between 1938 and 1946," the company’s press service said. "In modern Russia, the Salekhard Plant will be the first exporter. We have studied the markets, and as we receive necessary certificates we shall begin exporting fish products to Belarus."
Export plans
The company will ship to Belarus products made of ecology clean wild fish. The supplies will begin after the company receives certificates of compliance with the Customs Union’s requirements, the company told TASS.
"We have been working as usually, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, all activities, except for the production itself, have been suspended," the press service continued. "After the restrictions are lifted, we shall adjust plans accordingly, and this work will continue."
As the certification formalities are observed, the company will start exporting products to Belarus, and later on to Kazakhstan, the regional government said.
The region’s export potential of deeply processed fish is estimated at 240 tonnes or 1 million tins. By 2024, annual supplies will be worth $2.3 million, the governmental press service added.
Quality of Yamal fish
The Salekhard Plant is the biggest fish processing company in the region, which produces more than 60 types of tins, and 90 types of fish products, smoked, dried or salted fish, and pre-packaged meals, the company’s press service said. Every year, the company processes more than 6,000 tonnes of fish and makes about 4 million tins.
"All products are natural, without food additives, all ingredients are local," the press service said. "The plant is on the registrar of producers and suppliers of natural and safe product of wild fish from the Far North’s waters."
The company works in initial treatment, preservation, smoking, drying, freezing, deep processing of delicious Northern fish, and making of fish products and tinned fish. The plant’s assortment grows steadily, the press service said.
"Recently, we have begun to make dried fish chips, which are very popular among local consumers, and no wonder - by using the modern equipment we preserve the taste fully," the company said.
Tins, produced at the plant, have been on sale in Russia’s other regions - Tyumen, Sverdlovsk and Omsk, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, the company’s priority is to supply fish products to customers inside the region. "Inside the region we sell 77% of the products, and 23% are shipped outside," the plant said.
Fish breeding on Yamal
The Sob fish plant on Yamal is the only Arctic plant to reproduce valuable and endangered whitefishes. The plant plans to release into the Sob River about 14 million fries of the species, which are on the verge of extinction.
The Salekhard Plant and the Sob Plant have been producing jointly the cold and hot smoked trout. "We also make two preserves - fish in vinegar and oil, and with northern berries," the plant said.
The regional government’s press service told TASS that on June 4, the Sob Plant released the first portion of fries - 5 million fries of broad whitefish with weight of at least 0.5 grams. Later on, the plant will release into the river muksun fries. "The fries are bred to be viable and easily adjustable for living in the wild nature," the press service said.
The release process continued for a few days, the press service said, adding special experts had inspected the fries before they were released into the wild.
"The whitefish fries demonstrated good growth, and from their appearance in early March, their weight was about 0.5 grams, and now they are viable for the wild nature. As for muksun, we continue breeding the fries - in two shops we use more than 160 basins. The fries now are about 0.02 grams and by mid-July they will have sufficient weight," the Sob Plant’s Director Dmitry Kolesnikov said.
The Sob Plant has been building a new branch on the Taz River to breed there broad whitefish and muksun. The plant will begin working before 2020 ends.
The Yamalo-Nenets Region’s territory is mostly north of the Arctic Circle, and the other part is on the slope of the Urals ridge. The climate is cold. Some areas are covered with the permafrost. The cold Kara Sea is nearby. Winter continues for up to eight months.