Page 86 - RusRPTSept20

9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Russian Industrial Fish Company (RRPK) of Gleb Frank, the son-in-law of stoligarch and Kremlin insider Gennady Timchenko, is lobbying for a reform of the fishing industry, Vedomosti daily reported on August 5 citing the letter sent by RRPK to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. RRPK is one of the largest fishing companies in Russia, holding the largest pollock fishing and second-largest herring fishing quotas in the country. As reported by bne IntelliNews, RRPK was believed to be behind the reshuffle of the lucrative crab market, with the government redistributing 50% of all crab fishing quotas in 2019. Reportedly, RRPK is now arguing for the need to boost the renewal of fishing vessel fleet by increasing the distribution of the so-called investment fishing quotas from 50% of all quotas to 100%. These are the quotas that oblige the recipients to invest in modernisation of their fleet and processing capacity. Should the investment quotas be increased, that would squeeze smaller players with insufficient investment resources out of the market.
A bad catch of salmon in the Russian Far East region could mean that the production of salmon roe will decline by 25-30%, pushing the prices up by 20-60%, Kommersant daily reported on August 28 citing unnamed market participants. Salmon roe, or "red" caviar, is one of the favourite Russian delicacies, cheaper and more available than the exclusive "black" caviar. The wholesale price of salmon roe could rise this year from RUB2,300 ($31) per kg to RUB3,000-3,300 per kg, sources in the large retail chains told Kommersant. This is the result of a 49% year-on-year drop in the catch of salmon to 0.22mn tonnes as of August 17.
The Russian Oils Union has proposed banning the export of sunflower and rape seeds outside the Eurasian Economic Union for up to four years, starting from 1 September this year. A similar restriction was introduced on 12 April and then rescinded on 13 June, although it has not prevented exports from reaching a record high 1.5-1.6mnt in the current season (September-August), according to IKAR. Limiting exports would increase the internal supply and put additional pressure on prices, both of which would be in favour of sunflower seed crushers. The total sunflower seed crushing capacities constitute some 17mnt, while the record high harvest of 2019 (15.4mnt) represented only 90% of that.
86 RUSSIA Country Report September 2020 www.intellinews.com