Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency to help improve transportation of seafood from fishing regions

Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency has announced measures to help improve transportation of seafood from fishing regions, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to a report delivered by Russia's fishery head Andrey Krainy.

Meanwhile, high railway tariffs have made the market players, especially during the fishery seasons, to store catches in coldstores at marine ports.

The nation's Federal Fisheries Agency says it is necessary to look into subsidies of transport expenses for seasonal transportation of fish products by railway, in order to supply the processors with the domestic raw fish at low prices thanks to decreased transportation costs.

This is quite important taking into account that the end price of fish products greatly depends on the make-ups of multiple intermediaries in fish transportation. In 2009 the Agency will develop a project on establishing a large company with participation of state capital to be engaged in seafood transportation from coastal regions and seafood sales.

The company will consolidate purchases from the fishermen, accumulation of seafood, coldstorage at ports, delivery to central regions, the Urals and Siberia and seafood sales.

Another initiative of the Agency has to do with establishment of the nation's operator of auction trade in aquatic biological resources in the form of a joint venture with participation of state capital and with affiliates in coastal provinces. This market measure is aimed at reducing the number of intermediaries and decreasing of the product's end price. The move will be beefed partly by creation by the Agency of a database of seafood markets to cover the industry's information needs.

In order to build up an efficient system of seafood sales it is necessary to provide for subsidies from the federal budget to cover the costs of establishment of specialized seafood markets in the inshore provinces.

The measures are to result into:

• A decrease of costs for seafood transshipment by 17%;
• A decrease of seafood retail prices by 15%;
• 900 extra jobs.