The issue of delayed payments to fishing vessels for fish weighed at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) facilities has escalated significantly.
Recently, MIFCO has been paying vessels for two weeks' worth of fish at a time. However, even these two-week payments are not settled on the exact due date. The company cites its own cash flow issues and the government's cash flow problems as the reasons for the delay.
The last two-week payment was made on the 3rd of this month. On that day, 7 million Rufiyaa was paid for 445 metric tonnes of fish weighed between August 9 and 23 (15 days). That payment was made 10 days after the two-week period had ended.
Now, another two-week period has arrived. This covers the period from August 24 to September 9. On the 3rd of this month, MIFCO stated that details on how this two-week payment would be made would be known on Monday, September 9. They also promised to deposit the money to vessel owners as soon as possible after the period ended. However, the week has passed without any news.
Compared to the previous two-week period that was paid, the amount of fish weighed by vessels during the current backlog period has increased significantly. From August 24 to August 30 (the first week), 415 metric tonnes of fish were weighed. From August 31 to September 6 (the second week), 467.80 metric tonnes of fish were weighed. Therefore, during this period, vessels have weighed a total of 882.80 metric tonnes of fish at MIFCO facilities. Comparing just these two weeks, this is a 12% increase.
MIFCO pays fishermen's bills after deducting the cost of oil and ice taken on credit.
Vessel owners state that MIFCO only issues oil on credit if there is a "backlog" owed by MIFCO. If there is no backlog, oil is not provided. Therefore, fishermen argue that this cannot be considered issuing oil on credit. Since August 31, as a way to encourage fishermen to go fishing, MIFCO has been issuing up to 10 tonnes of ice to vessels that "weigh fish to MIFCO".
