Renewed hope for EU duty exemption for Maldives fish, says president
"This duty is not levied on Mauritius, [and] Seychelles. Therefore, it is difficult to sell our fish to the UK and Europe, " President Solih
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday expressed hope that the European markets will cut duties on fish exported from the Maldives and with that the fish caught will be offered better prices.
The president made the remarks on Sunday evening while speaking at the event held at GDh. Faresmaathoda to celebrate the national Fishermen's Day.
President Solih said that while the government had given a subsidy to MIFCO and bought fish at the rate of MVR 17 per kg, it was not possible to keep up with the price for private businesses in the sector. He added that these businesses should also be taken into account when the prices of fish are changing.
"In fact, the industry will also grow with the expansion of the role of the private sector as much as possible in this regard and make space for free enterprise. If we are going to revise the price of fish, we need to measure what will happen to private sector enterprises," he said.
He said there were two things to do to increase the price of fish in favor of private businesses:
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Adding value to fish exports by creating diverse fish products instead of exporting raw fish
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To get better prices from foreign markets that buy Maldivian fish
Pointing out that foreign markets have been able to recover higher prices from the UK and European countries by relaxing the current 24% duty on Maldivian fish, he said the government's relevant agencies are in discussions with foreign stakeholders in this regard.
"In the not-too-distant future, there will be a solution to this, and the fish that the Maldives is exporting to Europe and the UK will get a better price. Then you will be able to pay a higher price for the fish we buy," he said.
"This is not something that is taken from our competitors in the region. This duty is not levied on Mauritius, [and] Seychelles. Therefore, it is difficult to sell our fish to the UK and Europe."
According to the president:
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Past governments have not developed the sector to the extent that fishing vessels have developed
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The interim government has always tried to address the concerns of fishermen and ensure that their profits are increased
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We will address the bank limits of fishermen and ensure that fishermen get fuel at discounted rates from STO for credit
Money released to fishermen will run into billions
The president also shared statistics of the fish weighed in by the state-run fish company MIFCO this year. He called this closing year the "year that reaped the most money". He said this year has the highest recorded purchase of fish since 2006.
"Till last Thursday, MVR 965 million has been given to the fishermen for the fish weighed in at MIFCO. By the end of this year, it will cross the 1 billion mark," he said.
Although the figures depicted otherwise, the president agreed that many of the concerns of the fishermen were still unresolved. He also highlighted the stories shared by fishermen of Faresmathoda this Sunday evening.
"In today's meeting, Jameel filed this complaint on behalf of the Village-verin fishing vessel . If they want to fish from this area, they have to spend 20 barrels of oil travelling to Kooddoo with their catch in the place of potential seven barrels if their fish can be weighed from nearby. Waiting in queues with their catches reduce the quality of fish and even then all of their catch is not bought in," he said.
The president's assurance is that he will address the problems faced by the fishermen of the region. He, however, did not elaborate on the solutions.
"Besides, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed in the industry... There really are things that need to be sorted out soon," he said.
