Malé, Maldives — The local fisheries company Big Fish Maldives noted that there has been a drop of 30 percent in the prices of yellow fin tuna due to Covid-19.
The company had also mentioned on Thursday that the local medias have been stating false reports regarding the price since July.
The inconsistencies in the reported figures and actual cost of tuna prices are due to an issue stemming from the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture’s ‘Keyolhu’ portal and the system in which fishermen submit financial reports, according to the local company.
Big Fish Maldives have also a 74 percent increase in air freight expenditures, including fines levied by Maldives Airports Company Limited, while there was only 23 percent in 2019.
The fish company disclosed that the current cost of fishes are at 40 percent now. This is the same amount for exporting fishes as well.
While noting budgetary shortfalls, Big Fish continued to state that fish processing and recurrent expenditure such as employee salaries have amounted to roughly 14-17 percent of profits. This amount unfortunately remains hindered due to the lowered cost of fish and subsequent loss of profits.
The Big Fish company warns that there is possible chances for the Maldivian fisheries industry to collapse.
