SUPPORTING COMPETITION AT AUCTIONS FOR ALLOCATING THE RIGHT FOR CATCHING AQUATIC BIORESOURCES

Reducing the lot threshold to 15% will facilitate competition development at auctions

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation approved a new method* to determine the quantity and size of the auction lots for selling the right to catch aquatic bioresources.

The modernized method reduces the lot size threshold from 35% to 15%, except cases for which a special lot design procedure is established.

The method also specifies the procedure for estimating the number of auctions subjects if an international treaty of the Russian Federation grants the right to catch several types of aquatic bioresources in the volume given in the international treaty without indicating separately the catch by each type of aquatic bioresources (a single quota).

To achieve informational transparency of lot estimate, the method includes an obligation to publish research data, on the basis of which calculations are made, particular, on www.torgi.gov.ru.

Head of FAS Department for Control over Construction and Natural Resources, Oleg Korneev, clarified: “The new method embeds FAS comments aimed at creating competitive conditions for allocating the rights on catchingaquatic bioresources and exclude provisions conducive to monopolization in the fishing industry. Reducing the lot threshold from 35% to 15% will increase the number of auction bidders”.

The Ministry of Agriculture also approved the new method** for calculating the initial lot price at auctions of quotas to catch aquatic bioresources in the validity areas of international treaties. The amendments are designed, in particular, to set an objective lot price, from transparency of such estimates and give access for potential auction bidders to these data.

Under the new rules, price will be formed based on the data from five Russian and foreign information resources containing data about market prices on aquatic bioresources and estimated as the arithmetic average of such prices. In the absence of price data in open sources for particular aquatic bioresource, the price for a comparable type of such a resource will be taken for calculation.

For the purposes of transparent development of initial price, information, on the basis of which the minimum payment is calculated, will be specified in the auction documentation.

Reference:

* No. 478 Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of 25.10.2018, registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 12.02.2019.

* No. 479 Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of 25.102018, registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 04.04.2019.