Last Updated on September 22, 2026 by Jeff Tomas
MOSCOW – The simultaneous September 2026 staging of WorldFood Moscow and the IX International Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia provided a broad picture of Russia’s changing food, fisheries and agricultural trade geography, according to a report by the famous and popular Russian analytical publication ‘Russia’s Pivot To Asia’.
WorldFood Moscow was held from 15–18 September at Crocus Expo, while the fisheries forum took place from 16-18 September in St. Petersburg. Together, the two exhibitions created complementary commercial platforms: Moscow focused on food imports, retail, wholesale, food manufacturing and HoReCa, while St. Petersburg concentrated on fishing, aquaculture, seafood processing, logistics, shipbuilding, technology and export development.
WorldFood Moscow featured 873 manufacturers and suppliers from 30 countries, 14 national pavilions and more than 400 new participants, while the fisheries forum expected more than 20,000 specialists from 81 countries, around 350 enterprises, including more than 70 foreign companies, and official delegations from 19 states.
Russia’s Pivot To Asia said that the central theme emerging from both events was the gradual construction of a wider Russian food-trade network linking China, India, Vietnam, Central Asia, Iran, the Gulf, Africa and Latin America. The process is not limited to conventional commodity exports.
It increasingly involves retail procurement, processing, aquaculture, technology, packaging, certification, cold-chain logistics, vessel construction, investment and joint ventures. WorldFood Moscow therefore functioned primarily as a market-access and procurement platform, while Seafood Expo Russia provided the industrial infrastructure necessary to produce, process and transport food and seafood to expanding foreign markets.
Russia’s new food-supply connections
WorldFood Moscow demonstrated the breadth of Russia’s new food-supply connections. Its 16 product sections covered groceries, confectionery, bakery products, organic and healthy foods, fruit and vegetables, beverages, ingredients, frozen foods, oils and sauces, halal products, dairy, seafood, meat and poultry.
Major Russian buyers included X5 Group, Magnit, Lenta, Auchan, Azbuka Vkusa, Ozon, METRO and Yandex Lavka, while more than 200 category buyers were involved in structured procurement negotiations. The Retail Chain Procurement Centre, Foreign Economic Activity sessions and Contract Expo were designed to connect international suppliers directly with Russian retail and distribution channels.
The previous year’s purchasing mechanism produced more than 3,500 negotiations and 2,834 contracts worth ₽91.5 billion, illustrating the commercial importance of the format, Russia’s Pivot To Asia said.
International participation reflected a broad shift toward Asian, Middle Eastern and Global South suppliers. India was the 2026 partner country, while China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the UAE, Oman, Egypt, Türkiye, South Korea, Thailand, Brazil and Tunisia established national pavilions.
Vietnam brought 30 enterprises to a 400-square-meter pavilion, promoting rice, coffee, pepper, cashews, confectionery and processed foods. Vietnam-Russia bilateral trade reached US$4.77 billion in 2025 and US$3.24 billion during January–July 2026, with both governments targeting US$15 billion in bilateral trade.
Brazil also participated through its first national pavilion supported by ApexBrasil, with 19 companies, while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan brought approximately 14 and eight companies, respectively.
Stronger export positions
Russia’s Pivot To Asia said that the St. Petersburg fisheries forum expanded this network into the seafood and industrial sphere. Its approximately 350 enterprises, international participation and delegations from Africa, Asia and the Middle East connected fisheries production with aquaculture, processing, logistics and export infrastructure.
The official program emphasized deep processing, aquaculture, international logistics, resource development and stronger export positions, alongside cooperation involving China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Türkiye and South Korea. Seven African countries—Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Mauritania, Mozambique and Côte d’Ivoire—were included among the official international delegations.
Russia’s own fisheries capacity gives this international expansion a substantial production base. The country harvested approximately 4.64–4.7 million tonnes of aquatic biological resources in 2025, with 2026 production projected around 4.8 million tonnes. Aquaculture contributed roughly 390,000–393,000 tonnes in 2025.
Seafood exports were approximately 2.0–2.1 million tonnes worth US$6.0–6.1 billion in 2025, while export revenue increased during the first half of 2026. China remained the dominant destination, receiving approximately 1.2 million tonnes worth US$3.4 billion of Russian seafood in 2025. Japan received about 118,000 tonnes worth US$952 million, while South Korea was another major Asian destination.
Move from raw seafood shipment
China is increasingly significant not only as a buyer but also as a potential technology and investment partner. Russian fisheries companies possess substantial wild-catch resources, particularly pollock, cod, salmon and crab, while Chinese companies have capabilities in processing, aquaculture equipment, feed, logistics and consumer-market distribution.
Cooperation can therefore move from raw seafood shipments toward fillets, surimi, processed seafood, aquaculture systems, feed, processing machinery and cold-chain infrastructure.
The wider BRICS and Global South dimension is also becoming more important. Russian seafood exports to BRICS markets have reportedly tripled in physical volume and increased 2.7 times in value over five years, reaching more than US$3 billion in 2025. Exports to Brazil increased approximately sixfold from 2021, while shipments to India increased about 1.7 times.
The UAE, Egypt, India, Brazil and other markets are consequently being considered alongside China, Japan and South Korea. Iran provides another potential corridor: its fisheries sector employs approximately 285,000–300,000 people directly, exports exceeded US$700 million in 2025, shrimp production reached approximately 50,000 tonnes, and Tehran aims to raise fisheries exports to US$1 billion annually by 2030.
The same diversification logic applies to Russia’s wider agricultural and food exports. China remains the largest external market, with Russian agricultural and food exports reaching approximately US$7.7 billion in 2025.
Opportunities extend across poultry, beef, dairy products and ingredients, confectionery, frozen foods, vegetable oils, specialty fats, organic products, halal-certified foods, ready meals and processed ingredients. Middle Eastern markets are particularly relevant because of their large food-import requirements, while Vietnam, India, Egypt, Brazil and Central Asian economies offer additional outlets.
Russia’s investment and export infrastructure
The emerging network also depends heavily on logistics and industrial investment. Russia’s fisheries investment-quota system links access to fishing resources with construction of vessels and shore-based processing facilities. More than 50 vessels have been delivered under cumulative programs, with additional vessels and processing plants under construction.
The expansion of Far Eastern ports, cold-chain systems, multimodal transport and the North-South corridor could support longer-distance trade with the Gulf, India, Africa and Latin America, Russia’s Pivot To Asia said.
Overall, the September exhibitions demonstrate two interconnected sides of Russia’s evolving food-trade strategy. WorldFood Moscow connects international suppliers with Russian consumers, retailers, importers and distributors, while Seafood Expo Russia connects fisheries resources with processing, technology, investment and export infrastructure.
Their combined international participation shows that Russia’s trade geography is becoming increasingly connected with Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
The immediate outcomes include buyer negotiations, preliminary agreements, letters of intent, investment discussions and proposed joint ventures, but the ultimate economic impact will depend on whether these contacts become long-term contracts, production investments, new logistics routes and higher-value exports.
The broader direction is therefore a shift from dependence on individual commodity flows toward a more integrated network based on market diversification, value-added processing, aquaculture, logistics, technology and long-term commercial partnerships across the Global South.
Author: Stephen Rozario
