OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2012. The FAS Russia initiated a case on violation of the antimonopoly legislation against a non-commercial organization “Pollock Catchers Association” (hereinafter “Association”, “PCA”) and 53 fisheries companies of the Far East, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The Association is suspected in illegal coordination of economic activity of economic entities (violation of Part 5 Article 11 of the Federal Law on Protection of Competition).

The companies – in creation and participation in a cartel - anticompetitive agreement, which has caused or could cause fixation or maintenance of prices, reduction or termination of goods production (violation of Points 1, 4 Part 1 Article 11 of the aforementioned Law).

The action for initiation of the proceedings are the results of the dawn-raids carried out by the FAS Russia from May to August 2012 at the Association and a certain number of entities belonging thereto and involved into Pollock catching.

At present the Association unites 46 fish catching companies of the Far East region, among which there are companies working for the Korean, the Chinese and the European markets, and a big group of companies involved into coastal fishery.

“The FAS Russia disposes of information on the fact that within the alleged cartel, which coordinator has been the Association and the participants - companies-members of the PCA, there were repeated negotiations and exchanges of letters to concert the volume of Pollock harvested and the products of fish processed (Pollock caviar, Pollock fillet, “Pollock without head”, fish flour and etc.), terms and conditions and prices for sale, respective agreements were negotiated and signed, all this caused or could cause restriction or elimination of competition between competitors in this market, and, as sequence, creation of artificial deficit of these goods and increase of prices for them”, - Alexandr Kinyov, Head of the Anticartel Department of the FAS Russia says.

The Chinese Pacific Andes International Holdings Limited (“Pacific Andes”) is arraigned to the case as a person disposing information.

The PCA holds a share of around 35% of the Russia-wide catching of the water biological resources, inter alia 70% of catching of the Russian Pollock. The share of the PCA in production of the Pollock fillet amounts to 95%, the Pollock caviar-77% of the overall Russian production.

The share of the companies -members of the Association in the world’s catching amounts to around 40%. The companies-members of the Pollock Catchers Association run 141 fish-catching vessels, 82 of which are the large-capacities ones.