Meros has a packed schedule in the next weeks attending key industry events in Europe and Japan. We will be meeting with partners and friends and always looking to connect with others interested in innovation and business growth in the dynamic food industry.
If you’re attending any of these events, don’t hesitate to reach out and connect with us!
Meros Director Tina Peneva attended the annual Seafood Expo Global in Brussels (May 7-9, 2019) to learn about the latest trends in the seafood industry, reconnect with long-time Meros friends and discuss collaborations with new partners and industries.
The show hosted over 2000 companies in the seafood sector from 88 countries, billing itself as the world’s largest expo for the seafood trade. Below are some of our impressions of the seafood trade trends we observed.
Fresh seafood displays were still a key attraction for visitors, although there seem to be fewer and fewer seafood displays each year and more focus put on business meetings. The trademark of Turkey’s Group Sagun – a leader in bluefin tuna production in the Mediterranean Sea, all of it processed for the Japanese market – is their exhibit of a whole tuna which has probably turned into the most Instagrammed item of the show.
Japan remains the number two seafood importer in the world behind the US and while seafood consumption has been decreasing in Japan, the country still consumes as much as 33 kg of seafood per capita per year (compared to the US, which is closer to 7 kg.) But what is Japan offering as an exporter? In Brussels, the Japan pavilion hosted booths that exhibited products and skills targeting the booming sushi market worldwide. Seaweed products, especially nori, seemed to inspire special interest among visitors. Another product we were interested to see was farmed kampachi (yellowtail). Meros’ teammembers worked with closely with kampachi fishery cooperatives in the early days of the industry’s export development and seeing the industry increasingly established on the global stage is a real bright spot for Japan.
The booths from emerging seafood producing countries such as Myanmar were also attracting global buyers. There is solid export potential for aquaculture products from Myanmar such as rohu, shrimp, soft shell crab and pangasius. The Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) has been working with selected Myanmarese exporters to build their business skills for exporting to the European market. The program is part of a wider strategy focused on developing sustainable businesses in Myanmar.
Raw seafood goes fancy! The Spanish company Gimar displayed novel single-serving packs of raw salmon and tuna cuts for the food service industry. The “Skin Pack & Airbag” packaging technology allows fish to stay fresh in a double protected environment: the SkinPack is a film that is forms a vacuum around the fish and the “Air bag” seals the pack and protects the product during transportation. As sushi and raw seafood consumption grows in popularity globally, food safety measures and improved packaging technologies for raw seafood are increasingly a focus of company innovation.
The show gives out Seafood Excellence Global Awards for the best retail and HoReCa seafood products. The items we found most interesting featured different types of seaweed, mixed in unusual combinations and attractive packaging. Some of the finalists:
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