FM Zameer urges EU to slash 'disproportionate' taxes levied on Maldivian fish exports

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, on Friday, has called on the European Union (EU) to eliminate the disproportionate taxes levied on Maldivian fisheries exports in order to help Maldives diversify its economy and build its own resilience.

He made the call while speaking at the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum Roundtable on “Shared prosperity, economic resilience and investments” held in Brussels, Belgium.

In his address, Minister Zameer said Maldives’ fisheries industry remains a proud source of income, especially in the island communities.

Noting that the government was developing new fish processing plants across the country to empower fishermen – the Minister conveyed that the Maldives’ is seeking to increase fisheries exports to EU nations.

However, he stressed the importance of an open and fair environment for trade and investment for the purpose. 

“To achieve this, it is crucial that we first eliminate the disproportionate taxes imposed on our only exports - our sustainable tuna - by the European Union. This will help us diversify the economy and build our own resilience,” he added.

The former administration had also made several appeals to reduce or omit the taxes levied on Maldivian fisheries exports to EU nations. Discussions were also held in this trajectory.

Assuming the taxes will be reduced, the rate at which MIFCO purchases fish from was raised from MVR 17 to MVR 25.

However, the taxes were not reduced. This resulted in the operations of some local companies working in the sector coming to a halt, as they could not purchase fish at the increased rate. Moreover, fishermen had also raised concerns over delays in receiving payment for their bills.