Russian govt discussing organization of fish trading on exchange - SPIMEX

MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The Russian government is currently discussing the topic of trading fish on the exchange, head of the Saint Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) Igor Artemyev told journalists.

"At the moment, the government is discussing the issue of selling fish on the exchange. Both the FAS [Federal Antimonopoly Service] and the Agriculture Ministry generally support the idea. But not entirely. Many believe that we should start with off-exchange contract registration rather than off-exchange trading," he said.

At the same time, frozen fish is being considered for exchange trading based on delivery from processing plants, he said. "For example, frozen pollock - other types of fish can be calculated from it, as the market knows the conversion ratio. This would allow us to establish a market price, and the entire sales system would be transparent," he said.

Commenting on the need to launch fish trading on the exchange, Artemyev referred to the FAS, which presented a report on the pollock market to the government in 2016. According to the document, the logistics for transporting this fish are fully funded by the state (with a 100% subsidy), while the profit margin for retail chains from sales is minimal.

"At the same time, a fisherman earns 70 rubles per kilogram of pollock, but in Moscow, pollock costs 200, even 250-300 rubles per kilogram. Can anyone explain why fish in Russia costs as much as meat? In some cases, even more? And who's profiting from this? It turns out that there are intermediary structures that strongly resemble cartels, artificially inflating prices by reselling goods multiple times along the supply chain. Essentially, a parasitic system operates in the country's fish market. That was the conclusion of the antimonopoly service. Back then, the FAS study played a role in the decision to sell fishing and crab quotas and to increase tax rates in the fishing industry. And what is the best remedy against parasites? The exchange! If the exchange allows buyers to purchase directly from fishermen or first-tier wholesalers, all the parasites will be flushed out," Artemyev said.