MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Supplies of fish products to Ecuador may rise, in particular due to an increase in supplies from Russia of artemia, a kind of brine shrimp which is used as feed for shellfish, the All-Russian Association of Fishery Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters told TASS.

"In the middle of June representatives of the secretariat on quality and security issues if Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries finished their working visit to Russia. Its main goal was to inspect enterprises producing artemia, eggs of branchiopods small crustaceans used as feeding-stuff mainly for breeding shellfish. They will be able to continue supplies to the Ecuadorian market," the association said.

Ecuador currently accounts for around 13% (132.2 tons) of the total volume of external supplies of Russian artemia. "Aggregate capacity of the Ecuadorian market amounts to around 350 tons of cysts of artemia per year, with deliveries mainly ensured by the US, while Russia’s share reaches around one third," the association said.

"Ecuador is the global leader in shrimp farming. Last year the country exported $9.1 bln worth of shrimps, which put it on the third spot in the ranking of largest exporters. Ecuador plans to take the dominating role in the global shrimp sector by 2030 by boosting its production to 7 mln tons. This opens up good prospects for increasing supplies of artemia, as well as other ingredients for feed, such as fish-oil and fish-flour whose production in Russia is on the rise," President of the association German Zverev said.

A multi-fold increase in artemia supplies to the Ecuadorian market is limited by nature, the volume of stock, he added. "That said, the fast growth of Russia’s production of fish-flour and fish-oil may push supplies to the country up on the whole. Ecuador purchases large volumes of non-food fish-flour and fish-oil," Zverev said.

"The experience of Russian artemia suppliers may be used by flour and oil producers. Ecuador is our friendly country, with development of cooperation with it being very promising," he concluded.