Agriculture & Food insights

The 2025 Pacific wild salmon fishing season in Russia's Far East region has officially begun. As a significant annual event in Russian fisheries, this year's fishing season will start from late May, with a projected total catch of 312,000 tons, marking a robust harvest year. According to forecasts from Russia's National Research Center FGBNU VNIRO, the Kamchatka Territory will continue to maintain its core production area status, with an expected catch of 199,250 tons, accounting for over 60% of the national Pacific salmon total. Other major production areas' projected catches are as follows: Sakhalin Oblast: 62,190 tons Khabarovsk Territory: 36,380 tons Magadan Oblast: 9,840 tons Primorsky Territory: 2,710 tons Chukotka Autonomous Okrug: 1,320 tons Phased Launch, Fishing Period Continuing Until Late November The 2025 wild salmon fishing season will be launched in phases, with Primorsky Territory starting commercial fishing earliest on May 20, followed by Khabarovsk Territory on May 30, and the primary production area of Kamchatka Territory officially beginning on June 1. The entire wild salmon fishing season is expected to continue until November 30, when the salmon migration in the Southern Kuril Islands will conclude, completing a fishing period of over six months. Scientific Monitoring Ensures Sustainable Development To ensure resource sustainability and ecological balance, the Federal Fishery Agency of Russia will conduct comprehensive scientific monitoring throughout the salmon season. This season will deploy multiple observation points, combining manned and unmanned aerial vehicle patrols, hydroacoustic equipment, and river bank inspections to record salmon migration numbers in real-time. Additionally, fishing gear efficiency will be assessed to track the total number of salmon entering rivers for reproduction, ensuring the population's renewal capacity remains unaffected. These scientific monitoring measures reflect Russia's high regard for Pacific salmon resources, promoting fishery value growth while maintaining ecological responsibility and achieving a win-win between economic and environmental interests.

"This is the biggest hail damage I've seen in 15 years of apple farming." Song Young-chan (50), secretary-general of the Miryang Ice Valley Apple Development Council, lamented on the 8th that this year's farming has become difficult due to recent hail damage. He explained the severity of the hail damage, saying, "There was even an 85-year-old council member who was sobbing, saying 'In 30 years of farming, I've never seen such massive hail damage'." On the 29th of last month around 5:30 PM, localized heavy rain and hail with a diameter of about 1 cm poured for around 40 minutes, devastating approximately 1,300 farms and 920 hectares of apple orchards in Sannaemyeon. City officials reported that while investigating cold wave damage from late March to early April, hail damage occurred, leaving farmers distressed. Of the 23 villages in Sannaemyeon, Ochi Village suffered the most, with around 80% of its apple orchards damaged. Other villages were hit directly, with damage ranging from 10-80%. Song, the secretary-general, said, "While I'm grateful that Miryang City, Gyeongnam Province, and the Agricultural Cooperative are trying to help, I'm more worried about the future due to ongoing natural disasters." He added, "There's a smart orchard project to mitigate hail damage, but government support funds are limited, making installation burdensome," hoping for expanded support. In Sannaemyeon, only 2 out of 1,300 farms have been confirmed to have hail damage reduction devices installed. City officials stated, "We are investigating hail damage until the 12th" and "Farmers who have suffered damage can report it at the administrative welfare center of their orchard's location." Mayor Ahn Byung-gu had visited farms in Sannaemyeon on the 4th, expressing, "It's very unfortunate that farms are experiencing great difficulties due to natural disasters," and emphasized that the city would swiftly investigate and prepare support measures for affected farmers.

Today's pepper price on 8/6/2025 domestically is trading around 143,000 - 145,000 dong/kg. This week, global pepper prices are fluctuating in opposite directions, with domestic prices dropping sharply.