Alexander Mikhailov, Head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Center for Fisheries Monitoring and Communications", made the initiative at the "BRICS Fishing Routes. The potential of Russian exports to the countries of the association" during the IX Global Fisheries Forum & Seafood Expo Russia. According to him, the reorientation of Russian fish exports to the BRICS markets requires its own mechanism for confirming the sustainability of fisheries.
"The expansion of the BRICS and the reorientation of Russian fish exports to the markets of this association make it urgent to create our own mechanism for confirming the sustainability of fisheries. The creation of a certification system will strengthen the food security of the BRICS member countries, simplify trade procedures and increase consumer confidence in Russian fish products," Mikhailov said.
There is already a practical basis for the initiative. The electronic certification system with China and the Republic of Korea has been launched: work started in 2022, and in 2025 the solution went into commercial operation. In 2025, 3,770 electronic certificates were issued — 64% of the total number of documents. In total, 5855 certificates were issued during the year: 20.4% were sent to the Republic of Korea, the rest to China.
"Our experience shows that electronic certificates have quite a big advantage. First of all, it is the convenience and speed of working and handling them. We have identified eight main criteria by which electronic certificates could be implemented and used by the BRICS countries. And our proposal is to create a universal electronic export certificate for all BRICS countries. We understand that this is a complex and multi—stage work, it is difficult for eleven participants to agree, but our experience shows that this is possible, and such an innovation would simplify and increase the efficiency of fishermen who export," Mikhailov stressed.
To promote the initiative, it is proposed to create a specialized commission or a working group with the participation of the countries of the association. The transition to a single electronic format will reduce paper document flow for shipments to several jurisdictions at once and reduce the administrative burden on exporters working with several BRICS markets at the same time. The bilateral experience with China and Korea shows that if there is political will, technical solutions can be implemented in two to three years.
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