Putin: Logistics of fish from Far East a delicate issue, but problem will be solved

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Logistics is the main problem in supplying Russian regions with seafood and fish, but it will be solved, President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Friday.

"In order to improve or increase the supply of this product to Russian regions, it's necessary to solve, first and foremost, the issues with logistics. Here's how it is for us - everything is transported either by rail, which is expensive, or by plane, which is even more expensive. That's the problem," Putin said, adding that "logistics is a delicate issue."

At the same time, he recalled that up to 75% of Russia's catch of biological resources and 65% of their processing falls on the Far East. Their delivery to other regions is expensive. "If we could establish transportation and logistics, build them appropriately, it would change the situation," he said.

Serious attention is now being paid to the problem of transporting fish and seafood from the Far Eastern to other regions of the country, Putin said. "We will increase the capabilities for distributing these marine products, including crabs, to all regions of the Russian Federation. Especially since, according to the Health Ministry's norms, we fall short of the consumption norms for seafood and fish; I believe it should be 28 kg per capita per year, while we currently have about 23-23.5 kg. There is something to work on here, we are thinking about it and I hope this problem will be solved," he said.