Fish exports from the Maldives encountered a notable setback in the initial quarter of 2024, as indicated by data released by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
According to the latest statistics from MMA, fish exports in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to USD 28.4 million, marking a significant decline of 43.9% compared to the USD 50.7 million recorded during the same period in the preceding year.
In addition to the decline in fish exports, fish purchases experienced a notable decrease during the review quarter, dropping by 33.5% in Q1-2024 compared to 34.3% in the corresponding quarter of 2023. Specifically, purchases of skipjack tuna witnessed a decline of 33.0%, while yellowfin tuna purchases plummeted by 36.4%.
Furthermore, the volume of fish purchases dwindled from 33,010.5 metric tons in Q1-2023 to 21,941.3 in the review quarter.
Likewise, the international market prices for skipjack tuna fell noticeably, from MVR 29.3 per kilogram to MVR 20.0 per kilogram. However, data regarding the international market prices for yellowfin and bigeye tuna is currently unavailable.
