EUROPE, but has retained all of its trawlers. 

 ODRA had major operational losses both in 



1991 and 1992, as well as in the first half of 

 1993. The Government of Poland was 

 considering its bankruptcy and dissolution, 

 but the final decision has not yet been made. 



The GRYF company restructured itself in 



1992 into three companies,^- hoping that it 

 would be able to privatize three smaller units 

 with more ease than a large company. 



Financing operations: Polish high-seas 

 fishing companies have been exporting 90-95 

 percent of their catch during the past few 

 years, mainly to obtain rapid payment for 

 their products. This is necessary to avoid 

 carrying-over charges on temporary loans 

 extended by Polish banks to cover the day-to- 

 day operations of the companies. This was 

 not a major problem when the Polish 

 Government subsidized these companies with 

 low interest rates on its bank credits and, if 

 necessary, by direct subsidies. 



in August 1990, however, the new 

 democratic government discontinued all 

 subsidies and began to privatize the industry. 

 It takes many months before finished fishery 

 products can be sold, and the slow capital 

 turnover rate of the high-seas companies has 

 exacerbated their tenuous financial state. The 

 Polish fleets operate in distant waters which 

 are reached after weeks-long voyages. The 

 catch, or semi-processed products, are 

 brought back to Poland months later. In the 

 meantime, however, the company has to 

 finance the operating capital through bank 

 loans. 



This situation became so critical that in 



1993 the government's budget included 

 preferential credits for the operations of both 

 the deep-sea and Baltic fleets: 250 million and 



80 million zioty, respectively. The cost to 

 the government of these credit subsidies was 

 estimated at 40 million zloty."*^ 



Privatization: Only in 1990, when the 

 Communist Party's dictatorship and the 

 economic command system collapsed, were 

 the subsidies and fixed prices abolished and 

 the privatization of fishery assets (processing 

 plants, fishing vessels, export and import 

 trade, etc.) begun. The process of privatizing 

 state-owned fishing companies and 

 cooperatives is progressing slowly in Poland. 

 Although the state-owned share of assets 

 keeps decreasing, the public sector continues 

 to dominate the field. No institutions exist 

 that can effectively carry out such 

 transactions. Furthermore, there is a lack of 

 demand by Polish (and foreign) entrepreneurs 

 for fishing vessels and processing plants."*^ 

 Nevertheless, the Polish fishing companies 

 which have been government-owned until 

 recently, have made an attempt to privatize in 

 accordance with the Privatization Law of July 

 13, 1990. Under this law, companies may 

 form corporations in which foreign companies 

 hold an interest. The main obstacles to 

 privatization are the lack of available 

 investment funds (both foreign and domestic) 

 and the high interest charged on loans that 

 could be secured. ''^ On the other hand, the 

 extensive contacts, which many Poles have 

 maintained with the West European business 

 community, and commercial deals concluded 

 with countries that have market economies, 

 contribute significantly to the growing private 

 fisheries sector. 



The first among the three high-seas 

 enterprises to privatize was the ODRA 

 company from Swinoujscie which transformed 

 itself into a one-shareholder limited-liability 

 company. The single shareholder, however, is 

 the Polish State Treasury.'"^ 



222 



