FX.co ★ Cod became full-rate equivalent to dollar

The U.S. dollar exchange rate pushed the prices for chilled codfish up to 140 from 90 rubles per kilogram. While the market is suffering from a lack of Norwegian imports, Russian codfish became quite popular and is sold for dollars, due to that prices for fish advanced to a 10-year high.
In fact, cod became the full-rate equivalent to a dollar and now it is more expensive for consumers in Russia. “Cod cost depends on the foreign currency rate level. The signal point for fishermen is the price in dollars they can get for it in the world market. The fixed price for cod means the ruble is being devalued. Fishermen are increasing prices offered to Russian consumers in order to avoid losses because of the difference between the domestic and foreign markets,” head of the Russian Fishery Union Sergey Gudkov commented on. But he noticed that the production cost did not change and is still about 35-40 rubles per kilogram. The year-round fishing companies in Murmansk are working for exports only and the fish left in the region is sold for the overcharge prices. According to the latest releases, the majority of Russian cod is sold to China and the countries of the European Union. Head of the Association of Coastal Fisheries and Fish Farms in Murmansk Anatoly Evsenko confirmed the industry faced some serious problems. “We faced the necessity of import substitution. The banned salmon from Norway needs to be replaced with white fish. But my opinion is we are not able to provide the required amount of fish with chilled cod. There are 31 fresh and chilled fish-processing companies in the region, their total demand for supplies is about 100,000 tons a year. “The coastal fishers of the Arctic Basin were given a quota for 21,000 t of fish only,” Evenko said.