The representatives of the authorities, of course, could not keep silent in such a situation. One representative of the deputy corps shared his gastronomic preferences: “sometimes I can order fish in a restaurant, but I don’t cook it at home, I prefer meat”. Another head of the government reassured the public that the growth rate is another fake: “the increase is not twofold – in the period from 2023 to 2025 the price of imported mackerel increased from about $2.45/kg to $3.3/kg, i.e. by 34.6%”. At least the parties agreed that mackerel is not farmed or caught in Moldova.
Recall that in a conversation with an LP correspondent, Ocean Fish director Vadim Budaca explained the significant rise in the price of mackerel by a significant reduction in EU quotas for its catch, which resulted in a rise in prices on the main European trading platforms.
The European Commission, referring to the recommendations of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), back in the summer proposed to reduce the allowable catch of some species of marine fish, including mackerel, because of the critical state of these natural resources. The EU Council approved the relevant proposal at the end of October. Without waiting for the final decision on this issue, some large international traders reduced purchases and sharply raised prices for mackerel. In Moldova, fish sellers held back mackerel prices until the last moment, selling off the commercial remnants of the previously imported products. The price increase of this fish last week was caused, as merchants claim, by import of new, expensive batches of goods.
At the same time, as noted by Vadim Budaka, not all retail chains have doubled prices for mackerel. In specialized fish stores, where mackerel is not the main item, but only one of many assortment items, this fish has gone up in price, “but not up to 300 lei/kg and more”. At the same time, the prices for other budget fish, such as herring, hake and pollock, remained almost unchanged. In the worst case for consumers, they increased by a few percent.
In this regard, it is also appropriate to quote the opinion of a member of the Cabinet of Ministers that “we, as a state, can not interfere in the regulation of prices on the shelves – we have a market economy, regulate prices for socially important products, and fish is not included in this category”.
However, according to Igor Grigoriev, Chairman of the Association of fish importers AgroVector, the state could still do something for the consumer in this difficult situation. For example, not to force fish importers to inflate invoice prices when importing goods into the country at the request of customs officials who are guided by some “indicative prices”. And also to reform the “VAT system” in accordance with the recommendations of the European Union. The poor Moldovan consumers still pay one of the highest VAT on foodstuffs in Europe when buying goods in stores.
