President Solih: Positive changes to fish prices will be seen in the first 3 months of next year

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that the prices of fish will start to increase within the first three months of next year – and subsequently, fishermen would start receiving a fair price for their catches.

Speaking at a ceremony held at K. Gaafaru to mark the National Fishermen’s Day – President Solih said that fishermen would be able to reap the benefits early next year of the government’s efforts to expand the sector – including positive changes to fish prices.

He outlined some of the positive changes the government had already pioneered for local fishermen.

Stressing that it is his administration’s foremost priority to ensure timely payments for fishermen – he pointed out that when the administration took office, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Ltd. (MIFCO) owed over MVR 39.5 million to fishermen, which the administration managed to clear through the implementation of new policies to issue weekly payments to fishermen.

Noting that the quality of fish is a significant factor in determining the prices of fish – President Solih said that maintaining quality is one of the main areas the government is focused on improving. To achieve this, he said that the government plans on establishing a nationwide mechanism to provide ice to fishing vessels.

In this regard, today he inaugurated the newly developed ice plant in Gaafaru – while two others have been completed at R. Maduvvari and HA. Hoarafushi.

President Solih also noted that an additional 50-tonne ice plant was also established in Felivaru, while another 18 ice plants are being developed in 12 atolls.

He said that the completion of these projects will see production increase to 15,000 tons per month – which he describes will be a significant improvement to the sector.

President Solih also stressed the importance of increasing the production of value-added products.