Russia’s antitrust authority has proposed reducing the number of intermediaries in the fish supply chain to improve price transparency and curb rising costs.
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said, following an analysis of the domestic fish market, that pricing for fish products should become clearer and more transparent, which requires fewer intermediaries between fishermen, processors, and retailers.
The agency said it had completed a “from fisherman to shelf” review, analyzing wholesale prices from major fishing companies for popular species including pollock, cod, haddock, pink salmon, and Pacific herring.
According to the regulator, optimizing the supply chain by cutting out unnecessary intermediaries is needed to help stabilize prices.
FAS also noted that the Russian government has introduced mandatory reporting of over-the-counter fish transactions to improve price transparency across the supply chain. The system, initially voluntary from November 2025, will become mandatory from March 2026.
The regulator said the mechanism helps track prices along the entire distribution chain, reduces the risk of speculation, and supports more transparent pricing. It added that it is currently analyzing the data collected from these reports and will consider further measures.
FAS also said it has worked on reducing transport costs by expanding discounted rail shipments of fish from Russia’s Far East, with subsidies covering 50% of railway transport costs.
