Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation (CFC), which had not made profit for over 50 years, had reported a Rs. 1 million profit in January, 2017.
“The CFC installed 12 outlets island-wide in the last two months of 2016. These outlets reported Rs. 1,600,000 profit. Twenty more outlets will be installed this year,” the minister said.
A Rs. 72 million profit is expected this year and the CFC is capable of achieving it, Amaraweera said.
The minister said discussions with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake are to be held on financing Rs. 65 million to construct a fish processing factory.
It will export processed fish along with private sector enterprises, he said.
Amaraweera said the CFC has 1,113 employees though only 745 are qualified for what they do. Wages and salaries of the workforce cannot be paid since the CFC has no profit for 2017, he said.
A voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) was introduced and around 400 employees resigned under the scheme, he said.
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