Frozen IQF pollock retail pack made by Agama

Russian fish is sold 10% cheaper due to sanctions

RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Friday, November 17, 2023, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

Due to external restrictions and logistical difficulties, Russian fish is sold for export at a 10% discount, market participants told RG. The situation is aggravated by exchange rates. A decrease in fishermen's earnings from exports and an increase in production costs increase the risk of increased prices for fish on the shelf within the country.

The average export value of a ton of Russian fish products in 2023 decreased by 10%, the Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet (ASRF) told RG. Over the 10 months of 2023 (the same period last year), the volume of exports increased by 11%, and the increase in value was only 1%. Thus, the price for our frozen pollock fillet has decreased from 3.65 to 3.3 dollars per ton. At the same time, competitors' prices for fish, on the contrary, are rising. In 2022, Russian pollock fillets were sold cheaper than American ones by an average of 3%, and in 2023 the difference had already reached 19% (pollock from the USA costs 3.9 thousand dollars per ton).

The export price for Russian herring in the first half of 2023 decreased by 11%. At the same time, the price of large Atlantic herring exported by our competitors has increased: in Norway - by 21%, in the Faroe Islands - by 36%.

That is, the decline in Russian export prices is not caused by a reduction in demand on the world market. The reason is sanctions and unfriendly restrictions against the Russian Federation, the ASRF concludes. Thus, from July 1, 2022, there is a ban on the import of Russian seafood into the USA; from March 2022, new Russian ships and factories refuse to certify for the import of products to EU countries; in the UK, a 35% duty is applied to our fish, and in the ports of EU countries and Russian ships are prohibited from entering most Norwegian ports.

Source: FSA - Fishery Shipowners Association | Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet

The situation is aggravated by the introduction of an exchange rate duty on exports from October 1 (7%). This also reduces the profitability of the fishing industry, because exports provide more than 50% of the revenue of fishermen and processors, says Aleksey Osintsev, president of the ASRF.

At the same time, fishermen are currently taking on most of the increased costs without passing them on to consumers and processors. In the first half of 2023, the cost of fish products increased by 15% compared to the same period last year. The main reason is high prices for marine fuel. Meanwhile, in large wholesale prices for producers of frozen fish increased by only 6%, Osintsev cites data.

Source: FSA - Fishery Shipowners Association | Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet

In an interview with RG, the head of Rosrybolovstvo (Federal Agency for Fisheries), Ilya Shestakov, also expressed doubts about the advisability of exchange rates for the industry. The same duty applies to all fish. At the same time, the profitability of, for example, canned food is already 3-5%, and the same amount is taken from them as from crab, where the profitability reaches 70%. There must be a differentiated approach, Shestakov believes.

Chairman of the Fishing Union Alexander Panin believes that the exchange rate duties will be extended into next year. In his opinion, the introduction of this mechanism will most likely lead to a decrease in the export of food products, as has already happened with the products of a number of Kaliningrad enterprises.

Author/Source: Tatiana Karabut / RGRU (translated from original in russian)

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