Eight quotas for crab fishing in the Far East were sold at auctions for 66.27 billion rubles.

As part of the second stage of auctions for the distribution of crab fishing quotas, the first eight lots were sold for 66.27 billion rubles. The rights to extract about 2 thousand tons per year may go to the Russian Crab Group of Companies; other winners include the Antey Group of Companies and the structure of the DV Rybak Management Company and Sberbank. Despite the closure of the US market as part of sanctions against the Russian Federation, crab remains one of the most profitable resources, experts say.

The first eight lots with quotas for crab fishing in the Far East during the second stage of auctions were sold for 66.27 billion rubles, according to data from the electronic platform of the Russian Auction House (RAD). The bidding for two lots with quotas for several types of crabs in different zones was won by a member of the Russian Crab Group of Companies. Vladkrab LLC, agreeing to pay 10.4 billion rubles for assets. and 7.19 billion rubles. The All-Russian Association of Fisheries Industry (VARPE) estimated the production volume under these quotas at 1.09 thousand tons and more than 950 tons of crabs per year, respectively.

Two similar lots can be purchased by the controlled management company “DV Rybak” Island Crab LLCwhere 5% belongs to the Sberbank structure, and LLC “Sever”, 55% of which belongs to the owner of Sigma Marine Technology Maxim Petrushin. Bidding for one lot with a price of 10.4 billion rubles. won Antey LLC Igor Mikhnov and Arkady Pinchevsky. Another lot for 3.1 billion rubles. may move away LLC “Amurrybprom”. OJSC Phoenix, headed by the general director of the Okeanrybflot holding Evgeny Novoselov, also took part in the auctions. Russian Crab does not comment on the progress of the auctions; other companies did not promptly respond to Kommersant.

In total, as part of the second stage of auctions, it was planned to sell 48% of crab fishing quotas, VARPE previously reported.

27 lots were formed with an initial value of 204.7 billion rubles. The agreement on fixing the quota is concluded for 15 years, production will begin in 2024. The winning bidders for most of the lots must build a crab fishing vessel over 50 m long in Russia. Bidding for the remaining lots should end on October 17–18.

According to the results first stage of auctions In 2019, the Russian Crab Group of Companies received about 15% of the volume of crab produced in the country; last year’s catch amounted to 11.6 thousand tons, the group reported. Until March 2022, the main owner of Russian Crab was Gleb Frank, who reduced his stake in the group after being included in the SDN list of the US Treasury, and then withdrew from the company’s capital. The Antey Group of Companies, according to its own data, owns quotas for catching more than 39% of crabs in the Northern Basin and 12.5% ​​in the Far East, the production volume in 2022 is 18.4 thousand tons.

The head of the Fisheries Information Agency, Alexander Savelyev, notes that the auction took place with a minimal increase in prices, and the lack of competition may indicate agreements between the participants.

He doesn’t expect unexpected auction winners. Structures of the North-West Fishery Consortium (NWRC), which produces 10 thousand tons of Kamchatka crab per year, may also participate in the auction, the results of which have not yet been summed up. In October, Sberbank announced the conclusion of a loan agreement with SZRK for 63 billion rubles. to finance deposits at auctions. Chairman of the board of directors of SZRK Dmitry Ozersky did not comment on the auctions until the results were summed up.

As noted in VARPE, compared to 2019, average prices for crabs either did not change or increased by 14–18%, depending on the type. The most expensive blue crab rose in price by an average of 15.69%, to 1.5 million rubles. per ton. But the US ban on the import of crabs from the Russian Federation complicated the export of the resource. And the introduction of export duties tied to the ruble exchange rate could affect sales in China, where competition with crab miners from Canada is intense, VARPE pointed out.

Executive Director of the Association of Fish Market Manufacturing and Trading Enterprises Alexander Fomin notes that the current situation may look difficult, but crab remains one of the most profitable resources, requiring low fishing costs relative to sales revenue. According to him, fisheries near China and South Korea allow live crab to be shipped to these markets; in other cases, the catch can be processed, frozen and stored for about a year.

Anatoly Kostyrev