The seafood industry’s largest trade even, Seafood Expo Global, coupled with Seafood Processing Global, has broken records for its 29th event, and the second to be held in Barcelona since the switch from Brussels.
2078 companies exhibited, attracting 33,000 seafood industry professionals to the event. According to organisers Diversified Communications, this represents a 24% increase on last year’s figures – and dates for next year’s event have already been announced for 23-25th April 2024.
‘This has been a busy and productive three days filled with opportunities for decision makers in the seafood industry to gather and conduct business. The unprecedented number of visitors along with a record in exhibit space continue to position Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global as the must-attend global event in the industry,’ said Liz Plizga, President of Diversified Communications USA. ‘Exhibitors and visitors told us how pleased they were with the event’s exhibits and content, the venue and the city of Barcelona. The Expo is a valuable platform for the industry to do business on a global scale.’
In collaboration with Barcelona Food Bank, fifty volunteers worked to gather seafood products from the halls as the exhibition came to an end, taking away in refrigerated an estimated 14,000kg of seafood for donation to charities.
Innovation
Seafood Expo Global featured the latest seafood products from suppliers from around the world, and highlighted current trends in processing and packaging equipment, quality control, food safety and food hygiene services. Quality of products, innovation with new flavors, Asian flavours, spicy products and street food-inspired products were some of the most notable trends spotted at the event.
Seafood Processing Global brought together companies representing every aspect of seafood processing, including packaging material and machinery, equipment and supplies for refrigeration and freezing, primary and secondary processing equipment, hygiene control and sanitation, and quality assurance services.
This year’s event included a conference programme with more than twenty educational sessions presented by more than 85 international industry experts including representatives from the fishing industry, leading regulators, economists, NGOs and experts in biodiversity and sustainability. The conferences addressed the seafood industry’s main challenges in terms of sustainability and the global economy, while also examining topics such as sea-derived feed ingredients, aquaculture and logistics in the seafood industry.
