Ukraine continues to be an import-dependent state in the market of fish and fish products with a negative trade balance, while the Russian full-scale invasion has only worsened the situation in the industry.
The relevant conclusions were announced by members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy during off-site committee hearings in Izmail (Odesa region) on Thursday, according to the website of the parliamentary committee.
According to it, due to the aggression of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian producers in the Azov-Black Sea basin actually did not work in 2022 due to violations of logistics, the destruction of warehouses of frozen products by enemy shelling, the debt of retail chains for the supply of fish products and the absence of fish in the list of critical imports.
The committee also emphasizes that, in addition to military factors, the fishing industry in Ukraine suffers from systemic problems that have accumulated over the years. These are the lack of effective management for many years, in particular the lack of a strategy and program for the development of fisheries; outdated regulatory framework in the industry; the difficulty of obtaining the right to conduct aquaculture and commercial fishing, unequal access to a common limited resource and the existence of shadow fisheries.
Based on the results of the hearings, draft recommendations have been prepared, which will be considered at the committee meeting.
