Managing Director of State Trading Organisation (STO) Hussain Amr states the company is working on making its subsidiary Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) self-sufficient.
Earlier this year, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said MIFCO will become financially self-sufficient in mid-2022 and would no longer be dependent on STO.
Speaking to PSM News, Managing Director Amr said President Solih made the decision to make MIFCO financially self-sufficient in 2018, but that the work was delayed to prioritise solving the numerous issues in the fisheries company. He said MIFCO faced major issues when it was incorporated under STO, including lack of funds, low production, and low quality and broken machinery. He ADDED STO was forced to re-assess and completely re-model MIFCO into a profit-generating company.
Furthermore, Managing Director Amr highlighted the excellent work being done by the new management at MIFCO to increase productivity, including purchasing new vessels. He noted that MIFCO intends to increase its fish exports and expand the Kooddoo and Felivaru fisheries complexes, which will allow all fish caught in the Maldives to be processed, making way for higher profits.