The Monetary Authority of Maldives (MMA) has revealed that fish purchases increased by 10% in the second quarter of 2022.
Fish purchases totalled 17,878 metric tonnes in the second quarter of 2022, which is an increase of 10% in the second quarter of 2022, owing to the 12% increase in the purchase of skipjack tuna and the marginal increase in yellowfin tuna purchases, according to the MMA Quarterly Economic Bulletin. In the report, MMA stated that the increase in fish purchases was mainly due to the abolishment of controls set by Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) amid the better-than-anticipated seasonal increase in fish catch from the southern region. In the second quarter, yellowfin tuna prices stood at USD5.87/kg and in the second quarter of 2021, the price of fish was USD5.79/kg.
The volume of fish exports declined by 7% in the second quarter of 2022 when compared with the second quarter of 2021 and totalled 19,811 metric tonnes. The fall in the volume of fish exports primarily reflected the decline in the export of frozen skipjack tuna. It was followed by both the decline in the export of frozen yellowfin tuna and the export of canned or pouched tuna.