Mohamed Firaq, CEO of Ace Travels—the Maldives' largest airline general sales agent—has claimed that air cargo export statistics released by Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) for June do not align with airline records.
According to MPL’s "Sea-to-Air Cargo" statistics, 335 metric tonnes of goods were exported from the Maldives in June. These shipments were transported by carriers including Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, and Saudia to destinations such as Italy, the United States, Germany, and France.
However, Firaq noted that exports through a single airline alone reached 398 tonnes. He argued that the total volume handled by all freight forwarders, airlines, and GSAs operating in the country would be higher than the figures officially released by the government.
Industry stakeholders in the cargo handling sector noted that the discrepancy between the official figures and actual export volumes points to serious underlying issues.
"It is estimated that the actual export volume reached at least 600 to 700 tonnes. So we suspect that the export figures were misrepresented to evade handling fees," a reliable source told Adhadhu.
Firaq has called for a thorough review and verification of the published statistics to confirm the actual volume of goods exported through the airport.
He emphasized that to develop the Maldivian export sector, service standards must be improved and pricing must remain competitive with other regional destinations.
Firaq further noted that the Maldives currently benefits from overflow traffic from neighboring countries. He warned that regional competitors are actively expanding their handling capacities and streamlining services to capture this market.
"Our approach seems to be the exact opposite—increasing various charges without a clear plan. As a result, we may lose our competitiveness and eventually the market itself," Firaq said in a social media post.
He concluded that this is a critical issue requiring serious discussion among all stakeholders, adding that long-term strategic policies are essential to strengthen the Maldives' position and fully unlock the potential of the export sector.
