Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail said on Thursday that even though the discussions with European Union (EU) are positive, they do not know when the export duty on fish will be removed.
Fayyaz said they have been in discussion with members of the EU for a long time now.
“Negotiations are going well. We don’t know when we can give a deadline [for it]. Maybe sooner or maybe earlier [than two months],” Fayyaz said.
He clarified the matter after Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed Tweeted on Wednesday evening saying that the export duty on fish exported to the EU will be removed within the next two months.
Currently, there is a duty of 22 percent on all fish exported to European markets. This has increased the price of Maldivian fish sold to Europe.
When the Maldives was added to the list of developing countries in 2011, EU countries began imposing import duties on Maldivian fish products. As a satisfactory price could not be attained, both of the previous administrations had worked to get the duty lowered.
Sign In