Valdur Noormägi, the manager of the Tallinn-based industry association Estonian Association of Fisheries, told local broadcaster ERR that this would represent a 100 per cent increase compared with the current year. In 2016, Estonian fish processors are expecting their export sales to Japan to total some €3.5 million, according to the executive.
Mr Noormägi made the remark following the first day of a fish fair in Japan’s capital Tokyo.
"Even though it's the first day of the fair now, interest in Estonian fish products is absolutely there," the executive said.
Mr Noormägi said that some of the examples of products of the Estonian fish processing industry that are currently sold in the Japanese market include sprats in oil, sprats in tomato sauce, salmon products, as well as smoked eel fillets.
The Estonian Association of Fishery was set up in October 1995 by sixteen companies active in the Estonian fish processing industry. Currently, the industry association has more than 30 member entities. These include Arso EE As, Avektra Avektra OÜ, Freshrex Group OÜ, Interfish Balti AS, Kajax Fishexport AS, and Saare Fishexport OU, among others.
The Estonian executive said that the association is currently attempting to find a market for the output of local fish processor Avektra OÜ, in particular the company’s salmon product range.
Set up in 2000 and based in Tallinn, Avektra OÜ claims to be one of the largest companies active in the Estonian fish processing industry. Avektra OÜ is specialised in processing salmon and trout, and exports its products to the German, Swedish, Danish and other EU markets, as well as to Ukraine, Belarus and other former Soviet Union countries, according to data released by the firm.
Avektra OÜ says it has a storage capacity of about 2,500 tonnes of products.
