Belarus cancelling special seafood importer regime
As of 1 July 2010 restrictions for importation of fresh and frozen marine finfish and other aquatic products to Belarus shall be lifted and President's Administration shall be deprived of the powers of import quota distribution, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ (https://www.fishnet.ru/) with reference to Naviny.
The new regulation has been approved by the order No.194 dated 21 April 2010 signed by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. Experts say liberalization of the market will lead to a rise of seafood imports and a price fall.
In the meantime, the restrictions have been lifted partly as the state has reserved the exclusive right to import of freshfrozen fish as well as processed products (ready-to-eat fish, canned fish, fish roe and other items). However, some concessions have been made in this sphere as well. Until 1 July 2010 ready-to-eat and canned fish has been allowed to be imported only by state enterprises and companies partly owned by the state as well as branches of Belkoopsoyuz. Importation of salmon and sturgeon caviar, surimi-based ready-to-eat products has been 100% supervised by GTUP Belryba, a state enterprise subordinate to President's Administration. The main problem is that Belryba has been a market player and at the same time it has been authorized to distribute import quotas among its competitors. (The company's book value amounted to 104.6 billion RUB as per 1 January 2010).
Under President's order special seafood importer institution has been cancelled and the exclusive right to import of freshwater fish, finfish and other aquatic products has been given to the state. The government will realize its right via an interdepartmental commission which will gather under President's decision and define seafood importers on competitive basis.
The document's designers say that starting from 1 July 2010 when the order will enter into force there will be no fixed quotas and any company will be able to get the right to seafood import.
According to the order, all large players on the fish market of Belarus who are now owned by the state and subordinate to President's Administration will be 100% transferred to local property and have to compete with other suppliers on equal terms.
In particular, Belryba will be removed from property of President's Administration to the municipal property of Minsk (nation's capital) thus losing not only the right to distribute seafood import quotas but the patronage of President's Administration as well.
At the same time, President's Administration will gratuitously transfer its shares in OAO Grodnoryba (plc) and Bobruisk-based OAO Rybnyi Ryad (plc) to the ownership of local authorities.
Competition
Under the same order President Lukashenko has approved conditions for open competition on seafood importation. Arrangement and technical maintenance of the interdepartmental commission (membership to be approved by President) will be entrusted to the nation's Ministry of Trade. All the companies who fulfill a number of requirements concerning conditions of seafood import and storage (and also those who are not at liquidation stage) will be admitted to competition. For instance, one of compulsory conditions will be presence of own or chartered coldstore chambers, storage facilities, special own or chartered truck fleet as well as own sales chain on the republic's territory.
Background
Control of seafood import and processing has been given to President's Administration in 2003. The order "On state regulation of import, processing, realization of marine finfish and other aquatic products" has actually given rise to state monopoly on the market. Regime of seafood import quota distribution has been introduced and later transferred to the exclusive right of the state with special seafood importer institution. That has led to a decrease of companies engaged in seafood importation and a consequent rise of fish prices.
In particular, 38 companies have received the right to import seafood products to Belarus in 2010. In the meantime, in 2002 (before the state got engaged in the sphere) 90% of all the products consumed in the republic have been supplied by 140 companies, mostly private owned. President thought that his interference would lead to a decline of prices, but in 2008 Lukashenko admitted that the nation imported and consumed too little seafood.
Experts say that it is necessary to completely cancel special importer institution and build up free market and competition. At the same time, government-owned companies of Belarus are not interested in such developments as they fear to lose in competition with importers in terms of prices.