EXPO CONCLUDES ITS 12TH EDITION

Expo concludes its 12th edition featuring the largest international representation of exhibitors. The three-day expo brought an estimated total attendance of 4,417 seafood professionals from 80 countries.

 Seafood professionals had the opportunity to network, build relationships and take advantage of several onsite features including the Business Matchmaking Programme, the Product Showcase and competitions such as the Seafood Excellence Asia Awards, Young Chef Challenge and Oyster Challenge.

The 12^th edition of Seafood Expo Asia , organised by Diversified Communications, concluded its three-day seafood expo in Singapore with the largest international representation of seafood and processing equipment exhibitors from 46 countries. Companies gathered to build high-quality relationships across the industry including with top seafood buyers, forge new partnerships and deepen their knowledge of the Asian seafood industry.

Countries that participated at this year’s event included Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mauritius, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam, among others.

Seafood companies travelled across the world to highlight their latest seafood offerings and best practices in sustainability and aquaculture. Seafood companies AquaChile, Arakou Fishery LTD., AquaPri A/S, Blumar Seafoods, Caleta Bay Mar SpA, Coast Seafood AS, Cultimer, Ferme Marine de Mahebourg Ltd, Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-op, Hofseth International AS, Marennes Oleron Oysters, I.D.I. Corporation, Loch Duart Salmon, Nordic Kingfish A/S, Seaborn A/S, Sjor AS, South African Farmed Abalone Export Council, The Pirates Co., Ltd., The Seafood Company Pte Ltd., Vinh Hoan Corporation, Zalmhuys Group and more participated at this year’s event. Companies showcasing their aquaculture technologies, state-of-the-art processing equipment and service solutions included Alpha Aqua A/S, Baader Asia PTE., D&D Electronics, Co., Ltd, FrostiX Co., Ltd., GUNZE LIMITED, Jaw Feng Machinery Co., Ltd.

Seafood professionals and decision-makers from across the supply chain searched for new business opportunities, products and industry trends. High-volume importers and buyers from the foodservice and retail sectors participated in the business matchmaking programme to source products from participating exhibitors. Companies such as Big C Supercentre Co., Ltd, Central Food Wholesales Ltd., CJ Freshway, EB Services Company Limited, Emart, ITM Alimentaire International, Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union, Royal Seafood International Trading Company Limited, SMSI/ Sysco, Trendcell Sdn Bhd (Jaya Grocer), Yonghui Superstores and more participated.

Special events and competitions were held in the Demo Theatre. The Seafood Excellence Asia Awards awarded Vinh Hoan Corporation (Vietnam) with the Best New Product for its Lucky Bag. The awards for second and third place for Best New Product were given to Fisher Farms, Incorporated (Philippines) for its Corn and Coconut Breaded Shrimp and Tzukuan Fisheries Association (Taiwan) for its Fish Soup- Gogi Flavor, respectively. The Young Chef Challenge featured professional chefs under 25 who competed in various challenges for a panel of judges. The winner of the challenge was Keefe Chew, Junior Sous Chef at Naked Finn. The team from Pan Pacific Orchard Singapore won the top prize of The Oyster Challenge, a three-round competition where chefs shucked oysters and creatively paired them with the best sauces.

Alongside the exhibit hall, an educational conference programme delved into timely topics and discussions led by experts from across the industry. Some highlights of this year’s programme included an investor panel featuring six entrepreneurs from start-ups across Asia who presented their innovations and solutions in aquaculture, sustainability and the seafood supply chain. A panel of women sector stakeholders including Åshild Nakken, Norwegian Seafood Council, Jill Briggs, Affectus, Cathrin O. Rabben, Ode, Manuela Gomez Vaamonde, Stolt Sea Farm and more discussed the barriers and opportunities in creating a more equitable and inclusive seafood industry. Other sessions included a discussion on cell-cultured seafood, how the global seafood market will shift considering recent improvements in global frameworks for better seafood traceability and an insight hour for seafood processing updates.

Seafood industry professionals can learn more about Seafood Expo Asia at www.seafoodexpo.com/asia .