The organisers of China Fisheries & Seafood Expo (CFSE) have taken the decision to reschedule the 25th exhibition due to the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.
Originally slated to be held this October 28-30, at Qingdao’s Hongdao International Convention & Exhibition Center, the 25th Anniversary CFSE is rescheduled to October 27-29th 2021 at the same venue.
‘It was a hard decision to make, but at the end of the day we feel it was the right one,’ said Peter Redmayne, President of Sea Fare Expositions, Inc., the Overseas Co-organiser of CFSE.
‘We listened to our exhibitors, visitors and stakeholders and decided in light of the challenges the coronavirus will continue to present we could not produce the high-quality event the global seafood industry counts on each year.’
CFSE organisers, CCPIT-Specialised Sub-Council of Agriculture (CCPIT-SSA) and Sea Fare, stated that they hold the health and safety of exhibitors, visitors, partners and staff as their number one priority and rescheduling is the only responsible course of action at this time.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has been effectively contained in China for months, there are still minor recurrences in some Chinese cities. But the biggest issues for holding CFSE this year, say the organisers, were the ongoing travel bans, quarantine requirements and resurgence of the virus in some countries.
‘This spring, we were quite confident we could hold CFSE this October,’ said Yang Hong, General Manager of Sea Fare (China) Ltd.
‘But as spring turned to summer with so many issues unresolved regarding travel restrictions, we decided it was just too challenging for most overseas participants. We don’t expect the outlook for holding an international trade show in China to improve until next year.’
China Fisheries & Seafood Expo has been an important trade event for the global seafood industry to grow their business in the world’s largest and fastest growing seafood market for 25 years. Over 40,000 seafood buyers from 99 countries did business with about 1600 exhibitors from 53 countries at CFSE 2019.
‘The global seafood industry is being challenged like never before,’ Peter Redmayne said.
‘We are confident that CFSE 2021 will help the industry recover as quickly as possible. We would like to thank all of our friends in the industry for their understanding and continued support and apologise for any inconvenience. We will be discussing next steps and procedures with our exhibitors in the coming days.’
