News Desk
The government is working to reduce operating costs for companies in the fisheries and agriculture sector, Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam said on Tuesday, as both state-owned and private firms report mounting pressure from the fallout of the Middle East conflict.
Shiyam said MIFCO and private fish processing companies have been hit by rising logistics costs, high freight prices and the broader economic disruption caused by the war. The government is assessing what direct assistance it can offer and is working to identify ways to bring down operating expenses for companies running fish processing plants.
For processors operating in outer islands, the ministry is working with island councils to improve access to facilities and services. Shiyam said the government recognised that these companies faced a different set of logistical constraints from those based in Male’ and that council-level coordination was necessary to address them.
Export-facing companies are dealing with a separate problem. Freight costs have risen and logistics chains have become more expensive, squeezing margins for companies already operating in a competitive export market. “Processing companies are doing what they can to reduce operating costs in order to reduce the increase in logistics expenditure, which is the expenditure on domestic transportation and exports,” Shiyam said.
Agricultural companies are facing similar pressures. Rising fuel prices are feeding through to production costs, and the minister said the prices of some agricultural products were likely to rise as a result. He said the government would continue supporting companies in both sectors to keep operating costs manageable.
No specific figures or assistance packages were announced at Tuesday’s briefing.
The timing is difficult. The Maldives National Bureau of Statistics reported that the gross value added by the fisheries sector fell 75 percent in February compared to the same month last year, dropping to MVR 108 million. That was also 40 percent lower than January this year. Fish exports fell between 45 and 65 percent in the first two months of the year, with catch volumes declining by a similar margin.
March brought some relief. Fish exports recovered, rising eight percent compared to February. The pattern is not entirely unfamiliar. The first months of the year have historically been slower for the fisheries sector, with income picking up through the middle of the year. Last year, July was the strongest month for fishing revenue. Whether the same trajectory holds in 2026, with the war disruption added on top of the usual seasonal slowdown, is what the industry is now watching closely.
Despite the current pressures, MIFCO’s numbers tell a story of a sector that entered this period from a position of genuine growth. The company released more than MVR 16 million to fishermen for fish purchased between 1 and 15 May alone. Of that, MVR 16,063,256 went to boats landing skipjack tuna, with an additional MVR 27,340 for large tuna over ten kilograms and MVR 468,850 for catches over 15 kilograms.
The 48-hour payment cycle is now standard. When President Muizzu took office, the previous government had left MVR 250 million in unpaid dues to fishermen. His administration cleared the backlog in its first year and introduced the 48-hour payment commitment on Fishermen’s Day 2024. It has held since. MIFCO has also raised the fish purchase price to MVR 16 per kilogram, reduced the price of fuel sold to fishermen, and began purchasing large tuna over ten and fifteen kilograms from January this year, a commitment the President had made to the fishing community.
The broader numbers from 2025 show how significant the turnaround had been before this year’s disruption. After the fishing industry’s contribution to the economy fell 33.1 percent in 2024, it rebounded by 30.8 percent in 2025, according to the Maldives Monetary Authority’s annual report. Fish processing companies purchased 88,300 metric tonnes during the year, a 66 percent increase on the previous year. Skipjack tuna purchases rose 80 percent to 32,400 metric tonnes. Yellowfin tuna was up 20 percent. Together the two species accounted for 90 percent of all fish purchased.
Export figures were even more striking. Fish and fish product exports grew 92 percent to 76,400 metric tonnes. Frozen skipjack tuna led the way, with exports rising 158 percent.
The war’s disruption is real, the logistics costs are rising and the early months of 2026 have been hard. But the fisheries sector the government is now trying to protect is meaningfully stronger than the one it inherited. Whether that strength holds through a difficult year depends on how quickly the Middle East situation stabilises and whether the seasonal recovery in the second half of 2026 arrives on schedule.
