The red caviar, a sort of Russia's brand identity that has always been a premium product, may soon be in short supply. The major producer of the raw roe, the Kamchatka Peninsula, has established new prices of the delicacy – 2,100-2,500 rubles per kilogram. Such a rise was provoked by 40% decline in the catches of salmon this year in comparison with the same period of the last year. The fishing enterprises are incurring losses of 400-450 million rubles due to the ships redeployment and pays to seasonal workers. The population of salmon has been falling year after year. The Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography representative said that we are unlikely to observe another historical maximum of salmon catches like in 2009-2012 owing to the fish population decrease. The Federal Agency for Fishery of the Russian Federation (Rosrybolovstvo) has no doubt that the spawning run will continue. Director of the Center for Public Relations of Rosrybolovstvo Alexander Savelyev noted that the fishing season is going to last for several months more, so the fish that has not arrived yet at the Russian coasts, is coming. Last year, 60% of the Far East fish (about 80% of the total national volume) was caught in Kamchatka and 40% - in the Sakhalin Oblast, where the fishing season of salmon starts later. According to Alexander Savelyev, in 2013 Sakhalin will become the main supplier that will contribute to the prices stabilization. In May, the wholesale prices of the processors were held at the level of 2,400 rubles per kilo. The experts do not rule out the possibility that the retail prices of caviar will rise by up to 10%.
