Market expansion - Tatarstan aims to export snails to China

      Version

      

      

      

       //

      

      

       Business

      

      

      

       //

       Tatarstan Aims to Export Snails to China

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Tatarstan Aims to Export Snails to China

      

       1084

      

       Market Expansion

      

      

      

      

      Tatarstan Aims to Export Snails to China (photo: shedevrum.ai)

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       The Tatarstan producer of edible snails is seriously targeting the vast and promising market of China, viewing it as a potentially bottomless sales channel for its rapidly growing products.

      

       As stated by co-owner of the Helix Group, Roman Matveev, at the "Tea Club" meeting of RBC Tatarstan, his enterprise is steadily increasing production volumes every year and this year expects to collect about 15 tons of live snails, which is why it is considering new options for larger sales markets. According to him, the company has already explored options with Kazakhstan, but the product did not generate the expected interest there, while supplies to Uzbekistan showed positive feedback, although the volumes are not that large. China, however, appears much more attractive. A focus group study conducted by the company showed that snails generate lively interest among the Chinese, and the label "Made in Russia" adds special appeal to the product and is perceived as a mark of quality. Are there risks? Experts interviewed warn that occupying even a small but stable niche in the Chinese market will be extremely difficult due to fierce price competition. The main supplier of snails to China, Vietnam, controls over 40 percent of imports, offering its products at a dumping price of just over $11,000 per ton, while the cost of Tatarstan snails is initially high. China itself is also among the top five global leaders in industrial snail production, and a large snail cluster in Nanhui supplies 70 percent of the domestic market. At the same time, traditional Chinese cuisine hardly uses the grape snail in the European sense, and domestic demand for it as food remains low. A way out may be the premium restaurant segment, specialized nutrition, or the export of frozen raw materials for cosmetology and pharmaceuticals, where mucin is actively used, as well as dietary supplements. A serious barrier is the strict certification requirements of the PRC, registration in GACC, and expensive logistics: the import of live snails is prohibited, and the delivery of frozen products requires a continuous cold chain. Matveev also identified finding a reliable distributor as a major problem. It was previously reported that against the backdrop of the extension of the visa-free regime between Russia and China until the end of 2027 and the reorientation of tourist flows due to the conflict in the Middle East, the Republic of Tatarstan is actively increasing efforts to attract guests from the Celestial Empire, adapting infrastructure and services for them.

      

      

      

      

       Arina Mikhaylova

      

      

      

      

      

       Published: 06.08.2026 10:02

       Edited: 06.08.2026 10:02