08.06.2022 // Beyond the Arctic Circle, food quality is subject to special requirements. Among people engaged in the same type of physical activity, energy consumption is 15-30% higher in high latitudes than in temperate climates. Because of this, the body utilizes vitamins C, B1, B6, B12, PP, and A more quickly. Canned food can compensate for the lack of vitamins: modern technology allows it to fully retain all essential nutrients. And the ease of transportation and storage makes canned food an indispensable part of northern import and diet.

On 6 June, Khanty-Mansiysk hosted a round table by the Arctic Development Project Office, dedicated to supplying canned goods to the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The discussion participants came to the conclusion that this is a very convenient option in the new reality, when new logistics chains need to be established.

The participants of the Expert Council from the Project Office for Arctic Development agreed that the Arctic is becoming a promising market for canned products in light of the current sanctions. At a meeting on 17 May, 2022, they discussed the interaction between producers and consumers of canned food products in the AZRF.

Representatives of the Arctic regions said that canned food is a great way to diversify the range of goods available to the northerners. For example, at the end of 2021 more than 220 metric tons of canned products were brought to the northern part of Yakutia. In 2022, there are plans to transport some of these products by the Northern Sea Route for the very first time, which will increase the shipping volume by about 70 metric tons.

"There are many opportunities for developing canned food production and shipping, thanks to the Arctic preferences under Federal Law, On Support of Entrepreneurship in the Arctic Zone of Russia, as well as offset contracts and subsidised interest rates for the supply of products under the northern shipping category," says Alexander Vorotnikov, coordinator of the Expert Council at the Project Office for Arctic Development.

Russian manufacturers are ready to supply their products to high latitudes. For example, the Belkovsky food processing plant from Ryazan Region can offer concentrated juices, and the Semilukskaya Trapeza company from Voronezh Region wants to supply canned vegetables that use sterilisation instead of preservatives. Northern customers will be happy with canned goods from southern regions. But they are not just sitting idly: they are also launching the production of their own, local goods. In Murmansk Region alone, several companies are already successfully supplying their products not only to their neighbors in the Arctic, but also to other regions.

The Murmansk-based Laifix Foods, a resident of the Arctic Zone, has set up seafood fishing and processing, launching its own line for the production of sea urchin caviar. Its products are already in demand in restaurants in Russia and in many countries in Europe, Asia and America.

Kola Krai company produces sauces, juices and jams from northern berries, while Yagelbrew makes unique drinks with the addition of natural northern berries and plants. And the MurmanSnack brand offers canned and preserved scallop, cod fillet, whitefish, and trout.

The first batch of Arctic canned fish has already been shipped... to space. On 8 June, the fish delicacies caught and preserved in Salekhard were delivered aboard the ISS. As they enjoy some peled fried in tomato sauce, peled in jelly and humpback whitefish in jelly, the cosmonauts will be able to appreciate the exquisite taste of environmentally pure whitefish caught in the Far North. Delicacies from the only city beyond the Arctic Circle are packaged so well that they can withstand any extreme conditions, even a flight into space.