European Seafood Exposition

The 17th European Seafood Exposition (ESE) and 11th Seafood Processing Europe (SPE) events will be staged in Brussels, Belgium between 28th April 2009 and 30th April 2009. These outstanding events are designed for both seafood buyers and sellers from throughout the world. It is anticipated that the 2009 events will see a total of almost 700 companies exhibiting.

In 2008, the two exhibitions attracted 23,833 attendees from 150 different countries. These impressive statistics reflect the fact that the events are perceived to deliver seafood business professionals with the unique opportunity of accessing a one-stop resource to reach global retail, foodservice and wholesale companies. In addition, those attending are able to share ideas and insights regarding the industry with their counterparts, who literally come from all over the world. And previous research relating to this event confirms that those visiting the two exhibitions have high levels of purchasing power – the average visiting company for the ESE purchases €2 million of seafood per annum.

Running parallel to the ESE is the Seafood Processing Europe (SPE) tradeshow, which delivers further excellent opportunities to visitors. This event plays host to many exhibitors from throughout the world that represent every aspect of seafood processing. These include Packaging Materials & Equipment, Refrigeration/Freezing Equipment & Supplies, Primary Processing Equipment, Secondary Processing Equipment, Hygiene Control/Sanitation, Quality Assurance Services.

Trends clearly show that the importance of the seafood industry continues to grow. Research carried out by the FAO confirms aquaculture production amounted to a grand total of 35,072,983 tons in 2006. This compares to 24,403,011 tons in 2000 – a substantial increase. This production equates to a total of US$ 44,767,637,000 in 2006, up from US $30,610,224,000 in 2000.

A hugely positive factor for the industry remains the issue of seafood being considered highly nutritious. The World Health Organization (WHO) state that since 1961, seafood consumption has grown at a rate of 3.6% per year. Furthermore, they state that the proteins derived from fish, crustaceans and molluscs account for between 13.8% and 16.5% of the animal protein intake of the human population and the average per capita consumption increased from approximately 9 kg per year in the early 1960s to 16 kg in 1997.

The WHO state that typically seafood provides about 20-30 kcal per capita per day and that throughout the world approximately one billion people rely on fish as their main source of animal proteins.

Like most industries, the seafood industry is unlikely to escape the current economic crisis unscathed. For example, the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India estimates the crisis has resulted in a 40% decline in output. Added to this is the increase in diesel costs and equipment and the fact that to date no government bail outs have been provided for the industry.

In light of this issue, the exhibitions come at an ideal time as they will offer a range of new opportunities to visitors and exhibitors alike. And it is likely that those companies that can stand strong during difficult times and continue communicating to gain and preserve the trust of their clients should be able to experience a competitive advantage from the crisis. The event organisers are certain that both seafood events will prove to be a great success. More information on the exhibitions can be found on www.euroseafood.com and  www.europrocessing.com.

For online global seafood news, www.SeafoodSource.com is the place to be! This comprehensive online resource will be relaunched in March and will provide industry professionals with regular news and information relating to the seafood industry from reporters in key seafood markets around the world. This will be supplemented by articles on seafood from a database incorporating no less than 80,000 publications worldwide. Additionally, SeafoodSource.com will contain market reports covering 10 separate seafood categories as well as direct reporting from the European Seafood events.