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The Norwegian delegation included Hermod Larsen, head of Norges R?fisklag department in the North Norway, Vard?, Willy Godtlibsen, sales manager of the Troms? office, and Frode ?yan, manager of the CTG terminal in Hammerfest.
The visit was aimed at making further steps towards a wider cooperation with fish processors from Murmansk. So far, Norwegians have developed successful partnership only with the Fish Processing Plant, which offers today an average daily processing capacity of 40 tonnes of fresh saithe.
This autumn, in October, a newly opened Norwegian fish-processing company, Gigante Murmansk, based in the MFPP’s leased workshops, plans to start its own processing line as well.
To assess the two enterprises’ potential became possible through on-site demonstrations arranged for the Norwegian guests. MFPP’s General Director Mikhail Zub sounded regretful about many of the plant’s production spaces which totally occupy 72 000 sq.m, that idle today. The enterprise is under a long-lasting repair and modernization process.
MFPP’s director came up with substantial evidence that his company is worth being dealt with: capital assets estimated at 302 million roubles (app. USD 9,5 mill); no wage arrears or tax indebtedness. MFPP owns a number of various-capacity coldstorages, sausage and other food processing factories, a klippfish-making facility currently rented out to NorthVerde fish processor.
Add to that Mr Zub’s independent manner of running things: all strategic decisions on the company’s activities, he claims, are taken by him personally, and he is not likely to be influenced in his business policy without good reason.
With all those factors mentioned, the company looks like an attractive partner for the Norwegian fish wholesalers.
Meanwhile, MFPP’s future outlooks are largely focused on deep processing of saithe. The company’s sausage-making facility could be fit for production of plastic-packed sausages using minced saithe as raw material. This product can be stored at +20 degrees C, with expiry date of up to 6 months. A number of prospective buyers from China, Ukraine and Belarus have already expressed a serious interest in this kind of products. But with the factory’s value fallen down to $1 million from the initial $6 million, and no money raised for production development yet, it does not look possible to get it working unless additional investments are poured in.
Gigante Murmansk had also things to show to the Norwegian visitors. Assembling of refrigerating equipment here is completed, and the company is about to start the processing of pelagic and bottom fish. A little later, it is planned to replace the manual work with a fish-processing conveyor. At the moment, the company’s daily freezing capacity is estimated to 250 tonnes.
As mentioned earlier, about 40 tonnes of fresh saithe per day is currently processed at the MFPP’s facilities.
However, the company is interested in increasing its volumes, and Mr Zub hopes to have up to 5 000 tonnes of fresh fish processed by the year-end. The plant is ready to take frozen saithe for processing as well. With MFPP’s daily processing capacity of 120 tonnes and that of Gigante Murmansk being equal to 250 tonnes, it would make sense to get 4 or 5 vessels permanently delivering their fish catches to the plant, Mr Zub remarked.
If Norwegian raw fish supplies to MFPP are launched on a steady basis, the company is going to consider purchasing fillet and scaling machines from Norway.
Having a guarantee of the plant’s being continuously provided with raw material would let Mr Zub address to the Russian government with an initiative on new trends in the Russian-Norwegian cooperation.
Norges R?fisklaget executives, in their turn, stuck to rather cautious statements at their meeting with MFPP’s head. They underlined that their purpose is to help Norwegian fishermen sell their catches fast and at with maximum profit. As for saithe fishing, it is hard to predict anything, given that Norwegians have experienced rather poor fishing for this particular specie, and the saithe quota remains largely undertaken.
Responding to a journalist’s question regarding the amount of the 2002 Norwegian quota for catching saithe and the situation with saithe fishing, the Norwegian wholesalers explained: ”The total quota is divided into three. The first quota share is given to purse seiners, second goes to bottom trawlers and the third part is allocated to coastal fish-catchers. 40% of the total saithe quota is allowed to catch until July 18th; the rest is left for the autumn.
This year, the first stage of saithe fishing was not a success. Out of the quota of 150 000 tonnes, Norwegian fishermen actually caught only 50 tonnes up to a present day. The situation is not expected to improve further, as the autumn period usually shows a low level of saithe catches.”
Norges R?fisklaget representatives mentioned with regret of having lost contacts with Murmansk motherships, particularly with the Sevrybkholodflot’s “Dauria”. Those vessels could make fish deliveries to the Murmansk harbour much easier and faster.
In mid-September, MFPP’s director Mikhail Zub expects to have a meeting with the Russian State Fisheries Committee’s Chairman Evgeny Nazdratenko to discuss future plans in connection with Norwegian saithe deliveries. In the meantime, the MFPP’s project on saithe processing was included into one of the Norwegian government’s programs financed through SND, a Norwegian fund for industrial and regional development.
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