The Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024 (SPIEF) will take place between June 5 and 8, and it is for this reason that, to promote it, a delegation led by Alexander Stuglev, chairman of the board and CEO, came to the country. of Roscongress, the institution in charge of organizing SPIEF.
During his visit to the city of Santiago (Metropolitan region), Alexander Stuglev spoke exclusively with AQUA Media, where he delved into the importance of this forum, the relevance of Chilean seafood for Russia and the situation of the main products: salmon and mussels.
What is the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and what is its relevance for Russia?
It is the largest forum in the world, because approximately 20,000 participants from the 130 most significant countries in the world are expected.
This year will be the 27th edition, and in this year there are more than 200 different partners that we have.
The mission of this forum is to be a practical instrument between the commercial relations of different countries and companies, to create an environment where these labor and trade relations can be made, in addition to combating the misinformation that is around the world on different topics.
Around 200 different events will be held, such as meetings and talks, among others, which cover the most important topics in the world, such as social and economic issues, technology issues, health and everything that is education; that is, all the most important issues of society.
There will also be various round tables made up of different countries or continents. This year Russia and Latin America will participate together.
The most important person in the world of business, commerce, politics always takes part in the plenary session of this forum and, above all, our president Vladimir Putin will also participate.
What are the Chilean products most required by the Russian market currently?
The main products that are already being exported to Russia from Chile are products from the sea and the agricultural industry. The wines, which are highly sought after in Russia for their quality and price, are also very popular.
What importance does Russia see in Chilean seafood products?
From the point of view of Chileans, Russia is one of the main consumers of Chilean seafood. If we talk from the point of view of Russia, Chile is one of the main countries from where we import fresh and frozen fish of different species, such as salmon or chilean seabass -known as Chilean grouper or deep sea cod-.
Until before the war in Ukraine, Russia was projected to be one of the large markets for Chilean seafood, however, this growth was strongly affected by the conflict. How do you see the outlook for the recovery of these imports in the short or medium term?
In my opinion, among the countries that offer seafood to Russia, Chile occupies second place in export.
I consider that, of course, the chances of recovery of this position have only increased. Also, from a logistics point of view, in my opinion, Chile has a fairly direct path to Vladivostok, one of the main ports in Russia.
6.1% of the country’s total salmon exports were destined for Russia. How do you see the interest of the Russian market in Chilean salmon?
Chilean salmon has always been considered a good quality product.
Do you think it is possible that these imports from Russia will increase?
Of course it’s possible. If there is interest and activity on the part of trading companies, of course more salmon can be brought to Russia, because so far there is a lack of quality fish in Russia.
One of the Chilean products affected by the conflict were Chilean mytilids. How do you see the recovery of imports by Russia for this product?
If we take data from the Russian Rural Agency, 80% of mussel imports in 2023 were from Chile.
That is to say, the import of Chilean mussels into Russia is practically monopolistic, with 80%.
Why might it have been affected? I couldn’t answer you because there is data from Russia that shows that it is practically a monopolist in the market. We would have to see what had happened, maybe there is less supply.
To conclude, please feel free to invite the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024
I would like to invite all participants in the Chilean seafood market to participate in this great forum that will be held in Saint Petersburg. They will be able to increase their production, their sales and discover new parts of the market in Russia.
They can also see the possibility of increasing their exports, of bringing a greater variety of raw materials or even opening some type of production there in Russia, things like preserves, for example, and also increasing their profit.
Photography: SPIEF
