Estonia, EU – CIS, Export, Foodstuff, Markets and Companies, Russia

"Our company is not sending too much of its output to Russia at this point, but is rather working with other markets," DGM's Marketing Director Aljona Protassova.

She said that DGM Shipping was focusing primarily on the Scandinavian market as a result of the lower political risk there.

Protassova said that the reduction in exports to Russia has happened solely because of political risk.

"It pays better to advertise yourself, stage product tastings and develop a strategy for countries of the European Union, where currency rates and the political situation are more stable," she added.

The company has set its sights on Russia accounting for 25% of its total exports, the Scandinavian market for 45% and other markets for 30% this year. As recently as in February, Russia accounted for 40% of its total exports.

The Russian veterinary authority Rosselhoznadzor in December 2017 announced that it has lifted its ban on imports of sprat from the Latvian company SIA Karavela and Estonia's DGM Shipping AS.

"The issue of lifting the import ban on the remaining enterprises will be reviewed on the basis of material presented by the appropriate institutions in Latvia and Estonia which show that violations were eliminated," the statement said.

The agency in the summer of 2015 banned import of fish products from Estonia and Latvia, saying that it had detected breaches of veterinary and food safety regulations.

DGM Shipping finished 2017 with a loss of 183,000 euros on sales of 2.4 mln euros. The company catches and processes approximately 5,000 tons of fish per year and sells its products under the Epinell and Briis brands, among others.