Govt no longer subsidises MIFCO fish purchases, says fisheries minister

Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam has said the government no longer provides subsidies to the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) to purchase fish, ending a practice he said was followed by previous administrations.

Shiyam made the remarks during Tuesday's sitting of the People's Majlis while responding to a question from Funadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdhooh of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC).

Mamdhooh asked why foreign currency earnings from the fisheries sector had increased under the current administration compared with the previous government.

In response, Shiyam said the fisheries sector required changes in export policy and that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's administration had prioritised those reforms.

He said previous administrations had not addressed longstanding issues facing the sector.

"It has been 40 years with just a single factory in Lh. Felivaru. Yet every administration talks about fisheries," Shiyam said.

Referring to the decision by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration to increase the fish purchase price to MVR 25 per kilogram during the 2023 presidential election period, Shiyam said the policy required the government to subsidise MIFCO's fish purchases.

According to the minister, the subsidy amounted to MVR 13 per kilogram. He said that with MIFCO purchasing between 123,000 and 125,000 tonnes of fish annually, the total subsidy reached billions of rufiyaa.

"I wonder why billions were not spent on establishing infrastructure or building factories instead. They just kept giving subsidies for political purposes to win votes," he said.

"Today, I can confidently tell you that the government does not give a single rufiyaa to MIFCO now for the purpose of purchasing fish."

Shiyam said the Maldives currently has a fish processing capacity of about 105 tonnes, including MIFCO's 50-tonne facility at Felivaru and private sector operations.

He said ongoing projects at Felivaru, F. Nilandhoo and Gdh. Fiyoari would increase the country's processing capacity.

"We are upgrading the 50-tonne capacity at Felivaru to 100 tonnes, along with projects in F. Nilandhoo and Gdh. Fiyoari. When these works are completed, our processing capacity will be tripled," he said.

Shiyam said higher export earnings would depend on producing and exporting value-added fish products rather than frozen raw fish.

He also said the operating environment for private companies in the fisheries sector had improved and expressed confidence that fish exports and sector revenue would increase as new projects are completed.