The 12th edition of Seafood Expo Asia concluded its three-day seafood expo in Singapore with its largest-ever international representation of seafood and processing equipment exhibitors. 

Companies from 46 countries 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, according to Diversified Communications, the show’s organizer. [Editor’s note: Diversified Communications owns and operates SeafoodSource.]

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 highlighting their latest seafood offerings and best practices in sustainability and aquaculture at the event included 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, and the Zalmhuys Group, among others. 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., and others.

At the event, seafood professionals and decision-makers from across the supply chain searched for new business opportunities, products, and industry trends, according to Diversified. And high-volume importers and buyers from the foodservice and retail sectors, including Big C Supercenter 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), and Yonghui Superstores, participated in the business matchmaking program to source products from participating exhibitors. 

Special events and competitions were held in the Demo Theatre. The Seafood Excellence Asia award for Best New Product went to Vinh Hoan Corporation (Vietnam) 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 program delved into timely topics and discussions led by experts from across the industry. Some highlights of this year’s program included an investor panel featuring six entrepreneurs from startups across Asia who presented their innovations in aquaculture, sustainability, and the seafood supply chain. A panel of women sector stakeholders including the Norwegian Seafood Council’s Åshild Nakken, Affectus’s Jill Briggs, Ode’s Cathrin O. Rabben, and Stolt Sea Farm’s Manuela Gomez Vaamonde, who discussed the barriers and opportunities in creating a more equitable and inclusive seafood industry. Other sessions included a discussion on cell-cultured seafood, a panel investigating 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.

Published by SeafoodSource