The Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) is committed to empowering fishing communities through various fish marketing projects nationwide.
Its chairman Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said these projects are being implemented in both rural and urban areas, including the Klang Valley, to boost fishermen’s income.
He said these initiatives include establishing LKIM fish collection and distribution centres (CCDC) to help fisheries entrepreneurs market their products.
“We also set up fishermen’s markets near the coast as these allow direct sales from the sea [fishermen] to the consumers, meaning there are no middlemen, making it cheaper,” he said after officiating at the 2024 Symposium on Sustainable Fish Marketing Projects, organised by the Fishermen’s Association and LKIM’s Fishermen’s Market Entrepreneurs here on Tuesday.
Elaborating, he said LKIM plans to launch the ‘Mobile Fish Truck’ (Mofit) project this year, focusing on the Klang Valley to tackle high fish prices in urban areas, an initiative to help the government reduce the public’s burden by offering more affordable prices.
“LKIM is also strengthening the supply chain to support the national fisheries industry, having sold nine million tonnes of fish worth RM54 million last year and expecting a 10% increase this year,” he said.
He assured that the fish supply would be sufficient during the upcoming monsoon season as LKIM has a stock of 105 tonnes of fish supply, including 1,500 tonnes from private sources, as a reserve in case of supply shortages.