President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated the administration will increase the overall earnings of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).
Addressing the inaugural meeting of the parliament session for the year, President Solih spoke on the critical need of renewed strategies to boost the efficiency and returns of MIFCO. Speaking in this regard, the president said new strategies once implemented will increase the overall earnings from fisheries activities.
Noting the importance of new strategies for MIFCO, President Solih expressed plans to reduce the export of frozen raw fish from MIFCO while at the same time focusing on exporting value-added processed fish cans of greater quality.
Moreover, the president added fish processing facility established by MIFCO in Addu Atoll will be completed this year and will begin operations, stating ice producing plants will be installed in a number of other islands and the capacity of Felivaru Cold Storage will also be expanded.
Meanwhile, as part of the 100-day pledges of the administration, government authorities have commenced work on facilitating ease of access for fisherman and farmers to financial services, bank loans and credit schemes.
Noting the efforts of government, President Solih revealed the import duty levied on diesel has been eliminated for fishermen to elevate the standard of living of families dependent on fisheries.