Putin Supports Ishaev’s Stimulus Plan that Seeks to Boost Fishing Industry

KHABAROVSK. August 25. VOSTOK-MEDIA – Presidential envy to the Russian Far East Viktor Ishaev has put forward a proposal to subsidize fish products transportation from Russia’s Far East to the European part of the country at a meeting in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on fishing industry development, which was chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“Our estimates show that the total volume of transportation of timber and fish products from the Russian Far East - and that of grain and fuel transportation to the Russian Far East - exceeds 11.5 billion rubles ($377M),” said Viktor Ishaev.

“If the transportation costs were 50%-subsidized by the government, then it would make just 6 billion rubles. The funds may well be earmarked from stimulus plan “Economic and social growth of the Far East and Transbaikal”. In that scenario fish would become far more available to far eastern consumers and it would be more profitable to supply fish to Russia rather than to Chinese markets. The subsidy would definitely give a boost to the regional economy which would be followed be a considerable rise in production, expansion of the taxation base, and the main thing, products of local fishing companies would get more available at the far eastern markets,” he said.

Vladimir Putin praised the envoy’s proposal as a way to stimulate fish industry growth. However, in that case, a fixed railway transportation rate should be introduced, he said, so that railway companies could not level up prices for transportation during the fishing season to spare the government from constant subsidies adjustments.

During the meeting, the officials also highlighted the issues of shipbuilding development, setting quotas and removing administrative barriers.