Tamil Nadu exporters of Maldive fish (‘maasi karuvaadu’) are in a spicy situation as Sri Lanka, the major consumer of this dry seafood, has banned its import from India since November last.
After the Union Government started giving attractive subsidy for constructing mechanised boats for multi-day deep sea tuna fishing, the number of boats involved in this fishing has increased sharply over the past few years. Consequently, the arrival of tuna in all fish landing centres of the State increased manifold to attract a good number of people towards making Maldive fish with tuna.
Though fresh tuna is also being exported, 17% of the total catch of tuna is diverted for making Maldive fish, which is produced in Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam, Chennai, Ramanathapuram and other districts. After washing the tuna thoroughly, the entire digestive system of the fish is removed and cleaned again with water before being boiled. Then the boiled fish is dried hygienically for 8 to 10 days and packed for export.
After Sri Lanka’s ban came into force on November 5 last, the Maldive fish manufacturers, workers of these manufacturing units and those who were getting indirect employment are in deep trouble. Maldive fish producers of Thoothukudi district, who were exporting an average of 20 tonnes of ‘maasi karuvaadu’ everyday to Sri Lanka, are in big soup after the island nation’s ban even as the neighbour continues to import this dry fish from Maldives, Pakistan and Iran.
“When Maldives too faced the ban, the country’s External Affairs Minister visited Sri Lanka and ensured the immediate repeal of the ban. Though our External Affairs Minister visited Sri Lanka recently, the ban on Maldive fish apparently did not figure in his talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart. So, we’re in deep trouble as Maldive fish worth over ₹ 500 crore, meant for export to Sri Lanka, is lying across the country,” says P. Antony Selvasekar of Tharuvaikulam, one of the major Maldive fish producer and first-generation entrepreneur, whose godown has ‘maasi karuvaadu’ worth ₹ 1.50 crore due to the ban. “For the loan I have availed for this business venture, I am paying ₹ 2 lakh a month as interest alone,” he says.
With the Maldive fish manufacturers abstaining from purchase due to the ban, one kg of tuna, which was sold for ₹ 70, has dropped to ₹50 a kg now at Tharuvaikulam, which receives 100 tonnes of tuna a day on an average.
Each manufacturing unit, which has employed a minimum of 60 workers, are idle and labourers have been left unemployed for the past two months. While the labourers have no work, the traders who were buying the ‘tuna waste’ for making broiler feed, are also out of business now.
“So, the State Government should take up this serious problem with the Centre for repealing the ban at the earliest, which will fetch huge amount of foreign exchange while ensuring the livelihood of thousands of people here,” said Mr. Selvasekar.
