Transcript of the start of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Andrei Krainy: I want to summarise last year's work and what we have done this year to cope with the many fishing problems. We have fulfilled all orders you made at the State Council Presidium meeting of August 31, 2007.
I remember you saying, "Is it ours or someone else's?" about the 200-mile Russian economic zone. It is ours, not only de facto but also de jure, now that a federal law has been passed stating that the continental shelf and economic zone catch entirely goes through Russian customs offices.
The Government passed 28 executive orders and amended 30 to develop the new law last year, so 95% of the fishing regulatory background has been made for today.
Vladimir Putin: It is not enough to make fishermen bring their catch to Russia-they need lucrative terms and good procession facilities, and they must be freed of red tape.
Andrei Krainy: You are right, Mr Putin, but we needed first of all to make the system transparent, because it was no secret that fishing vessels previously left the 12-mile zone to sell their catch in neighbouring countries' ports. This practice was especially frequent in the Far East. The Russian state had no idea how much they were catching and at what prices the catch was selling, which is why we introduced the norm existing in the legislations of all leading fishing countries of the world.
Fishermen approve of the decisions. Some thought our ports would not cope with the catch-but they are coping fully.
Supervisory agencies, especially the Federal Customs Service, have done a fine job in simplifying the formalities.
Fishing vessels undergo a much easier procedure now than before, when it was sheer hell compared to foreign ports. Now, 98% of vessels need no more than three hours to fill in the forms and get through border and customs checks, so Russian ports are regaining popularity. Fishermen are interested in bringing their catch to our ports.
Next, we explained to the fleet in November and December that we were in the midst of a global financial crisis and it was our fishers' primary duty to saturate the domestic market with good fish at reasonable prices. We convinced fishers that they would cope. Now, the Russian fishing fleet is 116% larger in the Far East and 166% larger in the North than it was in January-February 2008.
Capelin fishing in the Barents Sea is indicative. Capelin is the cheapest fist of all, selling at 17.5 roubles per kilogram in 60 Murmansk shops that cater to seniors and other low-income people, and 20-22 roubles per kilogram for all the rest. This is an example of the steady progress that has been brought about by import substitution.
On the whole, market food production increased by 32% in January-February of this year compared with the same period last year. We realise the importance of import substitution during the crisis, and we expect Russian fishing to compensate for shrinking imports and cut prices by year's end.
We are ready to meet domestic demands in full. Import cuts are no critical problem for Russia. We are ready to supply four million tonnes of fish and fish products at prices people in any income bracket will find affordable. Both cheap and expensive fish will be available. Thus, we are optimistic, and we expect to increase production by 25% this year.