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Before we get to the history of your company,
could you tell us your personal point of view
about the fishing sector in the region and its
future prospects?
It is a very complicated question at the moment.
The fishing industry is experiencing some transformations
that are not always useful for it. I have been
working in this sector since 1956. It used to
develop actively as the government financially
supported it. In the Russian Far East the catch
was more than 5 million tons. After the perestroika
period began, the fishing industry gradually became
a donor for the country and began experiencing
great economic difficulties and, recently, quota
limitations. Last year JSC "NBAMR" celebrated
its 50th anniversary. In its best years, 1988-1989,
there were 100 large trawlers and 15 thousand
5 hundred employees. Our company used to fish
10% of the whole catch in the Russian Far East.
Times were changing. At the moment we have 42
vessels and 7 thousand employees.
The company was established in 1951 and was
one o the largest enterprises in the former USSR.
It became a joint stock company in 1993. Could
you give our readers a brief historical overview
of the company since 1993?
I have been managing the company about 25 years.
To my mind those years are the most difficult.
To be financially supported by the government
and then to lose it was not easy at all. We had
to keep our employees and to survive in the sea
of transformations that flowed over the whole
country. Fortunately, we have been managing to
control the situation for the 10 years. Though
we are experiencing hardships at the moment. Our
company is a company that is paying taxes, is
not breaking fishery rules at sea, and has never
been involved in poaching.
Our company worked in New Zealand's waters for
37 years. It was our company that participated
in the Soviet-American project representing the
Russian part. It taught Americans how to trawl
fish, including from big ships. In the Soviet
era we used to work in foreign waters under certain
agreements and it taught us to be disciplined.
Do believe me, it is difficult to survive in business,
which assumes equal opportunities. However, those
opportunities are not equal.
I have been working in the fishing sector all
life and I am neither a thief nor a bandit. I
am not selling the state property either. I feel
hurt for my captains, for my employees when there
is only negative information in the media telling
that all people engaged in the fishery are thieves
thus paid auctions should be introduced. This
information is warmed up in the press from time
to time and this led to introducing auctions by
the government 2 years ago.
However I should say auctions are not the best
way for companies because the money is taken before
actual fishing and it exceeds production cost.
I will give you an example. I participate in quite
a few auctions as we need a lot of fish. Auctions
means selling uncaught fish, that is intentions
to fish and scientific forecasts, which are far
from being the best, are sold. The science lags
behind the time. Fish is influenced by a lot of
factors in the sea that cannot be predicted and
presented by the science. Last year we bought
7 thousand tons of herring in the Bering Sea.
We failed - not only our company but every company
that bought quotas - to fish 100% of what we bought
at the auction. We managed to fish only less that
50% of the herring. In the fishing area there
was warm water, the ice appeared later than usually.
Herring did not go to that area in big volumes
we needed in September-December. It happened only
in January. In the sea there is global warming
influencing fish behaviour but nobody takes this
into consideration. Thus we fished about 50% but
there is no tool to get the money back. That is
why the auction system is rather unsuccessful
for the fishing industry. Without auctions in
2001 we got profit of about 428 million roubles
but in 2002 it will be about 40-48 million roubles.
This is too little for such a company like ours.
However we paid for auctions 158 million roubles.
We had paid those taxes before but we did not
get any profit.
What are the main activities of JSC "NBAMR"?
The main activity of the company is connected
with fishing. Our basic production is frozen products:
filet, basically Pollock filet, beheaded Pollock.
By the way, the idea to produce beheaded Pollack
belongs to our enterprise. It took us long to
approve it in Moscow. Now this technology is known
all over the world. Besides we produce fish flour
from waste products and fish/cod-liver oil as
a by-product. We sell not only frozen fish. We
have an on-coast fish delicatessen factory, which
is engaged in the further fish processing. It
processes a small part of the caught fish and
we cover all south of Primorski Krai (Vladivostok,
the Find, Ussuriisk, Bolshoi Kamen, Partizansk)
with this production. There we produce smoked,
salty, pickled fish, various salads from sea kale/laminaria,
vegetables, in total 42 products.
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What is your production
volume in terms of figures?
In 2000 we caught 235 thousand 708 tons. Auctions
did not exist then yet. In 2001 we caught 213
thousand 670 tons. Then we also did not participate
in auctions because we paid most taxes from all
fish companies in Primorski Krai. And we were
the second taxpayer in Primorski Krai in general.
In 2002 we managed to catch 156 thousand 804 tons.
From them we bought 31 thousand tons at auctions,
having spent 158 million roubles. In our catch
there is mass fish that does not bring currency
(herring of the sea of Okhotsk and the Bering,
Pollack, greenling/rasp/rock trout, squid). As
to squid, our enterprise began to fish it in the
Russian waters because in waters of New Zealand
we did it 37 years. We are working with 39 regions
of the Russian Federation. Annually we send about
80 % of production to the domestic market. Last
year this parameter made 83 %.
Thus, about 20 % of your production goes to
foreign markets. What are basic foreign sales
markets?
We always in the company adhere to such a principle:
if it is profitable to sell in Russia it is necessary
to carry it to Russia and if it is profitable
to sell abroad it is necessary to carry abroad.
That is for us there is no difference to sell
for roubles or for dollars. But all the same the
currency component is present. Our fleet was constructed
abroad, namely in Germany and Ukraine. We have
to buy spare parts in the same countries. In Russia
these spare parts are not made. We have an enterprise,
which helps us to survive during this hard time:
this is our own ship-repair yard and dock. We
own a restaurant. With the help of the New Zealand
companies we opened the first beer factory of
Nakhodka. During the best times we managed to
construct on the territory of the enterprise a
refrigerator, also with the help of the New Zealand
companies.
Our readership is mostly represented by businessmen
who are interested in companies' financials. In
this connection, could you tell what last year's
annual turnover of JSC "NBAMR" was?
In 2000 - 2 billion 498 million roubles. In 2001
- 3 billion 866 million roubles.
There are 42 vessels in the fleet of your
company. There are 7 thousand employees. What
public role does your company play in the region?
Reduction in quotas very strongly influences
taxes, which we pay. And in our town we are the
first tax payer in spite of the fact that here
there are ports, PRISCO. And for the town, certainly,
this reduction is insulting and painful. In Primorsky
krai our enterprise is one of the largest taxpayers.
We work with the state honestly.
JSC "NBAMR" is the largest but not
the only fish company in the region. What is the
competitive situation in the fishing sector in
Primorski krai? What are competitive advantages
of your company?
If we have enough quotas we make a lot of production.
We influence prices. Earlier a lot of production
was delivered abroad. The Russian market was not
enough stated with fish products. The matter is
that for each production it takes consumers some
time to get used to it. For example, it took us
10 years to prove to Russians that squid is tasty.
When in 1956 I arrived here, nobody ate squid.
Nowadays squid consumption is quite high. We have
also our own place site where we grow sea kale.
It is necessary for our fish delicatessen factory.
Last year we harvested about 200 tons of sea kale.
It is sold as salads in Nakhodka and Primorski
kra and it helps people suffering diseases of
a thyroid gland. After the tragedy at the Chernobyl
nuclear power station we helped the population
with our production as active iodine helps to
remove radiation from the body.
You have been working in the fishing sector
since 1956 and have been managing the company
for about 25 years. What is your biggest achievement?
I worked as a sailor, worked as a mate, worked
as a captain. The ships where I was the captain
always were prize-winning at the enterprise. I
do not know whether it is my achievement that
JSC "NBAMR" is still alive or not but
the enterprise does live. I am awarded with a
few orders. I received last order 3 years ago.
Probably, my activity is estimated in such a way.
The personnel of the big trawling ship "Posyet"
I was the head of was awarded with Order of the
Labour Red Banner. They do not give awards for
nothing.
Our readers are businessmen all over the world.
What would you like to tell them about JSC "NBAMR",
about your employees, about your production?
JSC "NBAMR" is the most honest company
working in Asian Pacific. It is known in Japan,
Korea, China. We value it. It concerns the production
quality, obligatory payments which arise from
various contractual conditions. We are working
for JSC "NBAMR".
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Russian
interview version.
