A webinar on price dumping in the Russian market of translation service was held in January 2021. Among the panelists was president of the TechInput Group of Companies Boris Aronstein who offered his analysis in the following areas:
- Assessment of the current market rates and prices
- The rate and pricing policies of translation companies and how they are implemented
- Technologies (platforms, machine translation, etc.) and how they affect the rates and prices
- The role of the ATC and its possible efforts in maintaining fair market prices
The current situation with the rates and prices in the Russian market of translation services can be described as critical, believes Mr. Aronstein, and here is why:
- A severe disparity between the supply and demand for translation services exists as a result of the sanctions, counter sanctions, the pandemic, and the general situation Russia’s foreign trade finds itself in
- The government is pursuing an aggressive devaluation of the ruble against the dollar;
- There is a substantial difference in the cost of translation services in Russia compared to most Western countries due to the strong; depreciation of the Russian ruble against the key Western currencies;
- The government’s strong involvement into all sectors of economy.
He also pointed out that since ATC currently brings together 14 large and medium-size translation companies collectively owning only 15-20% of the entire Russian market of translation services, its role in countering price dumping may include the following:
- Entering into a ATC-wide agreement on countering price dumping and on expulsion of its members who violate this agreement (that includes their non-participation in tenders where dumped prices are practised). This could serve as a positive example for the industry as a whole.
- ATC’s outreach effort as of a trade union to emphasise the direct relation between high-quality translation and the fair market price of translation services.
