Fish exports from the Maldives saw a steep decline in the first quarter of 2024, reports Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
According to MMA in its most recent statistics, fish exports for the first quarter of 2024 stood at USD 28.4 million, which is a significant 43.9% decline compared to USD 50.7 million observed in the same quarter last year.
Fish purchases saw decline in the review quarter as well, as it dropped 33.5% in Q1-2024 from 34.3% in the corresponding quarter in 2023. Individually, skipjack tuna purchases for Q1-2024 saw a 33.0% drop while yellowfin tuna purchases declined 36.4%.
Moreover, fish purchases dropped from 33,010.5 metric tons in Q1-2023 to just 21,941.3 metric tons in the review quarter.
Similarly, the international market prices for skipjack tuna dropped from MVR 29.3 per kilogram to MVR 20.0 per kilogram. The international market prices for yellowfin and bigeye tuna however, are not available at the time.