Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed has stated Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) no longer needs financial support from the government for its operations.
Speaking at the Parliament of the Maldives, Minister Zaha said although the government had been providing financial assistance for MIFCO in previous years, no funds have been issued to the state fisheries company this year. She said MIFCO is now able to support its operations without financial assistance from the government.
However, the fisheries minister noted MIFCO is still recording losses due to the rate at which the company purchases fish from local fishermen. In this regard, she noted a loss of USD 0.19 to USD 0.26 is recorded per each kilogram of fish purchased from fishermen.
In response to a question by a parliamentarian on whether the government plans to privatise MIFCO in order to turn it into a profitable company, the fisheries minister said the government does not plan to privatise any state company which works closely with the public.
In 2016, the government handed over the administration of MIFCO to State Trading Organisation (STO) after the company went close to bankruptcy due to rising debts. The government has been undertaking efforts to increase the capacity of MIFCO and maximise its profits by strengthening the administrative and operational structure of the company.