Finland Times

One of Russia's largest fish-processing factories in the northern port city of Murmansk has been forced to suspend operations lately due to newly imposed sanctions.

Mikhail Zub, head of the Murmansky Rybokombinat, told local media Tuesday that work in the factory had ground to a halt after fish shipments from Norway were discontinued due to sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation.

The company had petitioned the Russian government for assistance and would consider legal action if the matter is not resolved in a timely fashion, Zub noted.

On Aug. 7, Russia announced a ban on imports of key food products, including fish, from the United States, the European Union, Norway, Canada and Australia in response to Western sanctions against it in light of the ongoing events in Ukraine.

The Murmansk factory has a production capacity of around 70,000 tons of fish per year. It specializes in the processing of live fish for higher-value-added products.

Zub now fears that the company's business could be lost to neighboring Belarus.