Despite the general strike announced in Belgium on April 22nd, which will disrupt transportation throughout Brussels, the 23rd edition of Seafood Expo Global and the 17th edition of Seafood Processing Global, formerly known as the European Seafood Exposition and Seafood Processing Global, will go on as planned, between April 21-23 2015 at the BRUSSELS EXPO in Belgium.
Diversified Communications, organiser of the annual expo, announced that it has expanded the exhibit space into a new hall, Hall 8, in response to companies’ growing demand to participate in the three-day event.
“This has been an exciting year to see the event grow and expand to become the largest edition in its history,” says Liz Plizga, Group Vice President for Diversified Communications. “The expo has surpassed last year’s numbers in terms of exhibit space and is more than 1000 m2 larger than the 2014 event, occupying 36,067 m2 of exhibit space.”
“The exposition features more than 1,700 exhibiting companies from over 70 countries,” adds Plizga. “This growth is a positive indication on the state and health of the seafood industry.”
Seafood consumption has been steadily on the rise for decades, with variations across continents, countries and regions. According to a 2014 report by the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), world fish production has experienced tremendous growth, increasing from 20 million tonnes in 1950 to 156.2 million tonnes in 2012, of which 97 percent was used for direct human consumption. Per capita fish consumption increased from 9.9kg in 1960 to 19.1kg in 2012. The report indicates that according to OECD–FAO (2013) projections, the trend is likely to continue with world fish production reaching 181 million tonnes by 2022.
Every year, seafood and processing companies from around the world exhibit at Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global to showcase their seafood products, equipment and services. In the 2014 edition, the event drew a total of 25,840 buyers and suppliers from 150 countries. The exposition provides seafood professionals with direct access to qualified buyers and suppliers from all corners of the globe. Attending buyers represent importers, exporters, wholesalers, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels and other retail and foodservice companies.
“The exposition’s strength is in its ability to attract the strong buying power of the global seafood industry for three days of conducting business, networking, discovering the latest trends in the industry and sourcing new products,” explains Plizga.
Exhibitors and visitors of the exposition are invited to attend the prestigious Seafood Prix d’Elite New Product Awards Reception, which will be held on 21 April 2015 from 18:15-20:00 in Auditorium 2000. Now in its 15th year, this premier competition recognises the best new products of the year developed for the European seafood market.
For more information, please click here