Russia’s new-season red caviar output falls to 1,740 tonnes by August 10
Russia placed 1,740 tonnes of new-season salmon caviar on the market between May 20 and August 10, 2026. The volume was 3.5 times below the same period of 2025 and almost half the comparable 2024 level, although July retail prices remained broadly stable.
Early-season supply drops sharply
Russia’s production of red caviar from the new salmon season has fallen sharply, raising questions about supplies and prices later in 2026. Between the start of the fishing season on May 20 and August 10, producers placed 1,740 tonnes of salmon caviar into circulation, according to data from the Centre for Research in Perspective Technologies, the operator of Russia’s Chestny Znak product-tracking system.
German Zverev, president of the Russian Association of Fishery Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters, told RIA Novosti that the volume was 3.5 times lower than the 6,080 tonnes recorded over the same period of 2025. He said it was also almost half the level registered during the comparable period of 2024, a year he described as difficult for the industry.
Salmon cycle weighs on production
The decline follows warnings that Russian salmon catches could weaken for several years. Federal Agency for Fishery head Ilya Shestakov said in March that catches of salmon species were expected to decrease over a period of seven to 10 years because of cyclical changes in fish returns. Russia generally records stronger salmon catches in odd-numbered years than in even-numbered years, making the comparison with 2025 particularly demanding.
The current figures cover caviar formally introduced into circulation rather than a final full-season production total. They nevertheless provide an early measure of the volume available to processors, distributors and retailers. The gap against both 2025 and 2024 indicates that the supply chain is handling substantially less fresh-season product at this stage of the fishing campaign.
Retail prices have yet to reflect the fall
The contraction has not yet produced a corresponding increase in the official national retail-price average. Rosstat data cited by Zverev put the average consumer price of salmon caviar at 9,396 rubles per kilogram in July 2026. That was broadly in line with the price at the beginning of the year and 2% below the level recorded in July 2025.
The divergence between lower new-season production and stable retail prices may reflect the timing of the data and the presence of inventories from earlier production. It does not establish that prices will remain unchanged as the season progresses. Availability will depend on the final catch, processing yields, existing stocks and how quickly distributors and retailers move the smaller new-season volume through the market.
Market faces a tighter supply test
For processors and traders, the immediate issue is procurement rather than confirmed consumer scarcity. A 3.5-fold year-on-year decline in tracked volume reduces the buffer available for contracting and stock-building ahead of periods of stronger demand. Retailers may initially rely on inventories and existing supply agreements, but a sustained production gap would increase competition for fresh caviar. The data released by mid-August therefore point to a tighter market, while the stable July price shows that the adjustment had not yet fully reached consumers.
