Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) has said it would delay raising the price of tuna cans until after Ramadan.
Delivering the Presidential Address at the first sitting of the first session of the Parliament for this year and on Fishermen's Day, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had announced that from March onward, MIFCO would raise the price per kilo of tuna purchased from fishers to tie to global prices for tuna. The president said if prices are high in global markets, MIFCO will buy fish at a higher price.
MIFCO had projected that the price of a case of tuna cans would increase by MVR 60 as per the change. With Ramadan looming up ahead, the timing for the price change has met with criticism from the public. As the new prices were scheduled to come into effect on March 1, large queues were formed outside the MIFCO outlets in Male' on Monday night to purchase fish cans before the prices increased. Businesses and individuals alike stayed in queue and purchased large quantities of fish cans.
MIFCO later on Monday announced the prices for tuna cans will not be raised until after Ramadan. However, they said the company would be paying a higher price for fishers for tuna purchased.
