NY buoyancy on Russia's seafood market changed by activity decay through late-March 2010

As per late-March 2010 Moscow's seafood market has been showing decay of purchasing activity after brisk sales in the turn-of-the-year period, though the market forecasters say that the demand for seafood will be on the rise after the end of the Great Lent closer to the Easter Day. In the meantime, as per the fourth week of March 2010 the price trends have been reported mostly negative, analysts of http://www.megafishnet.com/ (https://www.fishnet.ru/) concluded after analyzing the current situation on the market.

More specifically, the prices have been falling for blue whiting, pink salmon, chum salmon, pollock, pangasius and tilapia fillets. Farmed Atlantic salmon and trout have been showing only slight signs of a price rise.

Among other important developments of the fourth week of March 2010 Russia's fishery industry head has signed an order extending the A season for pollock fishery in the Sea of Okhotsk to 20 April 2010 following recommendations of the fishery scientists from VNIRO, TINRO-Centre, Kamchat-NIRO and MagadanNIRO research institutes. Thus, the nation's Federal Fisheries Agency has approved a ban for dedicated pollock operations, both offshore and inshore, in the North Okhotsk subarea from 20 April to 15 October 2010 (except for vessels harvesting pollock in the inshore waters with pelagic trawl and Danish seine from 15 June to 15 October 2010).

Experts say that the decision will exert a great influence both on the domestic and the international pollock market and, in particular, the market of pollock roe, prices of which have been extremely low in the recent weeks.

After a fairly long period of brisk consumer demand thanks to the national holidays in late February 2010 (men's day) and in early March 2010 (women's day) the consumer activity has changed upside down. According to a market survey made by Romir Company, from 8 to 14 March 2010 the consumer activity decreased by 11.1% on the average. More frugal consumers were the residents of million-strong cities who cut their expenses by 12.5%. In particular, Muscovites reduced their expenses on the second week of March 2010 by 14.7%.

Catch

As per 23 March 2010 Russia's total harvest of finfish and other aquatic species from the beginning of the year amounted to 1,016,700 tonnes, 171,000 tonnes up on the corresponding result of 2009. The TACs were covered at 25%, 20.2% up on the corresponding result of last year.

After an eleven-year break (from 1999) on 10 March 2010 the Russian trawlers resumed fisheries in the waters of Senegal. There the Russian fishermen are allowed to harvest West African horse mackerel and mackerel, sardine and sardinella.