Russian fisheries can supply domestic market

The Russian Fishery Agency estimates a 25 percent increase in fishing in 2009 and plans to fight high prices by re-opening a Soviet-time retail chain for fish products.

-Our fleet is capable of conquering the domestic market and fill the shelves with cheap and high-quality fish, Krayny said. By the end of the year, the Russian fisheries sector will be able to replace the falling import and deliver cheaper fish products than today.

The worries that Russian fishermen had about harbor facilities and infrastructure not being able to cope with increased amounts of fish, has proven to be wrong, Head of the Russian Fishery Agency (Rosrybolovstvo) Andrey Krayny told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a meeting, Vostokmedia reports. According to Krayny, 98 percent of all vessels are now being handled by both customs and border services within three hours.

Krayny intends to get rid of what he calls the “quasi monopoly” in the retail distribution of fish. Network companies are controlling up to 35-40 percent of food retail sales in towns and can fix the prices, he said. Fishers get 9-12 rubles per kilo when delivering capelin in Murmansk, but when the same fish is being sold in shops in Moscow, the price has reached 80-85 rubles. Krayny’s plan to fight this regime is to re-open the retail chain “Okean”. These shops, selling low-budget fish products, were very popular in Soviet times. The prices will be 30-40 percent lower than in other shops, Krayny said.

Powered by Labrador CMS