The new owners of Bumble Bee have assured that there will be no changes made to the agreement between Bumble Bee and the Pacific Fishing Company.

The new owners of Bumble Bee have assured there will be no changes made to the agreement between Bumble Bee and the Pacific Fishing Company.

Bumble Bee late last year sold its assets and is now owned by Fong Chun Formosa (FCF) Fishery Company.

Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says a meeting has been scheduled with the new executives of Bumble Bee and PAFCO which will take place upon the easing of the restrictions in place due to COVID-19.

Sayed-Khaiyum says Bumble Bee purchases only small volumes of albacore from local fleets.

“As a backup, if u like Mr Speaker Sir given the dearth of Albacore the PAFCO and Bumble Bee are also currently negotiating the processing of skipjack Tuna, which is more readily available in order to meet the annual supply of processed tuna. PAFCO is also intending to get more skipjack tuna for its own production Mr Speaker Sir”.

The Economy Minister says PAFCO has faced many challenges in the previous years.

Sayed-Khaiyum says to assist PAFCO they have decided to convert the government debt of PAFCO into equity.

This will make PAFCO a lot more attractive and a lot more independent to be able to go out and source funds without having to be completely reliant on the government.