Fisheries Minister: Pledge to ensure fair prices for fishermen's catch will be fulfilled in 2023

Fisheries Minister Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan has stated that the pledge to ensure fair prices for fishermen’s catch can only be fulfilled once the projects currently underway at Lh. Felivaru reaches completion.

Minister Hussain was summoned to the Parliament today – in order to answer a question posed by Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam. Subsequent to answering MP Shiyam's query, Inguraidhoo MP Hassan Mohamed (Hassantey) had posed an addition question to Minister Hussain – asking when the current administration's pledge to ensure ‘fair prices’ for local fishermen would be fulfilled.

Responding to the question – Minister Hussain highlighted the project initiated by the current administration at Lh. Felivaru with financial assistance from India’s EXIM Bank.

In this regard, Minister Hussain said that this project valued at MVR 35 million will allow purchasing up to 280 tonnes of fish and process them – and will also see the establishment of a 4,000 MT cold storage facility.

“The existing canary at Felivaru only capacitates processing up to 30 tonnes per day. Current administration is working on increasing the capacity up to 100 tonnes. This kind of an investment has never been made before," he had said.

Minister Hussain further added that in addition to the ice plant which will be established under this project, an ice plant funded by the state budget will also be established at Felivaru –  allowing the production of 175 tonnes of ice at Felivaru.

“This project has already commenced – the large-scale project I mentioned before. I believe that the project can be successfully completed by mid-2023, or hopefully even before that,” Minister Hussain noted.

Ensuring a fair price for local fishermen’s catches is an electoral pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.