Armenia bans exports of whitefish roe for six months from 2 January 2027

Armenia’s government at its 12 November session imposed a temporary ban on exports of whitefish roe from the country, including shipments to Eurasian Economic Union states. The ban takes effect on 2 January 2027 and lasts six months.

The ban covers whitefish roe of Armenian origin classified under EAEU commodity codes 0302 91 000 0, 0303 91, 1604 32 001 0 and 0511 91 901 9. The Minister of Economy was instructed to notify the Eurasian Economic Commission at least three calendar days before the decision takes effect and to propose applying the same measure to exports of these goods from the union’s customs territory.

The decision affects those engaged in commercial fishing on Lake Sevan, fish processors and exporters. According to the draft’s rationale, it stems from the requirements of food security, sustainable use of Lake Sevan’s bioresources and conservation of biodiversity. The draft was prepared by the Ministry of Environment.

According to the rationale, whitefish biomass in Lake Sevan was 2,668 tonnes in 2019, 2,345 in 2020, 5,348 in 2021, 4,700 in 2022, 3,974 in 2023, 1,293 in 2024 and 3,591.8 tonnes in 2025. The commercial catch was 300 tonnes in each of 2020 and 2021, 600 tonnes in each of 2022 and 2023, 679 in 2024 and 1,123 tonnes in 2025. The document says the growth in biomass does not yet ensure the optimal population of the species in the lake: according to some scientific data, the total stock could reach 10,000 tonnes and the commercial catch about 2,000 tonnes or more.

According to the rationale, data from a scientific catch carried out from December 2025 to 6 February 2026 showed roe accounting for 14.6–19.8% of the females’ body mass, while the share of whitefish ready to spawn or already spawned was 20.7% on 9 January, 66.7% on 24 January and 81.3% on 6 February. The ban aims to prevent possible negative consequences of exporting roe that commands a high price on the international market and to ensure the natural reproduction of the species.

Exporters should bear in mind that from 2 January 2027 until early July, shipments of whitefish roe out of Armenia, including to EAEU states, are prohibited. BusinessDaily.am reported on 22 October that the commercial whitefish catch quota for Lake Sevan was raised by 720 tonnes.