Seafood Expo Global sets new record for visitor numbers
The organiser of Seafood Expo Global today announced that a record total of more than 35,500 visitors attended the event in Barcelona this week.
“This year’s edition represented the largest in the event’s history in terms of attendance and exhibit space with more than 2,290 exhibiting companies from 85 countries and 65 national and regional pavilions, covering more than 52,980 net square metres of exhibit space,” organiser Diversified said in a press release.
“The energy and high level of engagement across the exhibition floor at this year’s edition clearly highlighted the value of in-person connections for the industry as a whole,” said Wynter Courmont, group vice president, seafood at US-based Diversified.
“Participants from across the value chain took advantage of the event to reinforce existing relationships, explore new business opportunities and stay ahead of the trends shaping the future of the seafood industry.”
Held at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía venue, the event is estimated to have generated an economic impact exceeding €161 million for the city.
Government ministers
A diverse range of countries were represented by individual companies, national pavilions, and visiting ministers. These included Dame Angela Eagle, the UK’s minister of state in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Canada’s federal fisheries minister Joanne Thompson, and Norwegian fisheries minister Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
There was no minister from Scotland due to the upcoming Scottish Parliament election, but the country was well represented by the extensive Scottish pavilion, which included stands for salmon producers Scottish Sea Farms and Loch Duart, and a dining area and food provided by Seafood Scotland for Scottish producers and their guests.
The menu included Scottish oysters, which are being exported to Europe for the first time since Brexit led to delays and red tape that made it too risky to ship products with such a short shelf life. Delays are now much less of a problem, and agreement has been reached between the EU and the UK to end the requirement for phyto-sanitary testing.
The world's biggest salmon producer, Mowi, which farms in Scotland, Ireland, and Canada, among other places, had a large stand, as did Canada-based Cooke Aquaculture, which farms salmon in Scotland as well as North America, Chile, and Tasmania.
