Maldives looking into new markets to expand fish exports

Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), on Saturday, announced it is looking into new markets in order to expand the export of Maldivian fish products.

MIFCO’s Managing Director Ismail Fauzi appeared for an interview on Public Service Media (PSM)’s Raajje Miadhu show on Saturday night.

Fauzi said MIFCO was engaged in discussions with a number of potential new customers, and expected fish exports to increase in the coming days.

“We are looking into new markets. We have already begun working on expanding into the Turkish market and the Canadian market,” he said.

Canned fish products exported to the European markets primarily go to the United Kingdom (UK).

Fauzi said MIFCO has received preorders for canned fish products for the coming three months.

“But the demand for frozen fish is dropping slightly. We are facing such difficulties exporting to many of the European markets due to the lockdown. The factories in Thailand to which we take the frozen fish for processing have been downsized somewhat. The storages in Thailand are almost full, but we aren’t facing much difficulty exporting,” he said.

With European countries easing coronavirus restrictions and reopening their economies, Fauzi said that the demand for canned fish was picking up, and that MIFCO was therefore working on expanding its operations.