Seafood Expo Global prepares to celebrate the largest edition in its history. The main international fair for the seafood sector expects to occupy 49,299 square meters of exhibition space at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona between April 25 and 27, a figure that represents a 24% growth compared to the 2022 edition and 21% compared to 2021, the last year the show was held in Brussels.
The organizing company, the American family group Diversified Communications, estimates the economic impact for Barcelona from the fair at 150 million euros, thanks to the participation of more than 2,000 exhibiting companies from 87 countries. The company's vice president, Liz Plizga, preferred not to advance a visitor figure, but it is expected to be higher than the 29,800 registered in the 2022 edition thanks to the full recovery of normality.
"In Brussels we no longer had enough space, we looked for a new fair infrastructure that would allow us to grow and after an international selection process we chose Barcelona; the data confirms that the move to an innovative and contemporary city was the right decision for the show, as it offers more growth opportunity," Plizga said this Monday at a press conference.
The first edition of Seafood in the Catalan capital was held last year, but the fair could not fully develop, since, for example, Chinese companies did not participate and there was no presence from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as a consequence of the war. In this 2023 edition, on the contrary, China will have a very significant presence at the fair, with 217 participating companies and occupying a space equivalent to 87% of the area that the Asian giant contracted before the pandemic.
According to Plizga, until now, the 2019 edition was the largest ever held by Seafood in its 29 years of trajectory, but this year the record will be surpassed and it is expected that, from now on, each year the fair will surpass itself thanks to the great growth potential offered by the Gran Via exhibition center. Sources from Fira de Barcelona indicate that the goal is to maintain this 20% growth rate and consolidate Seafood as the great showcase of the global fish industry.
Although the show will host companies from 87 countries, it will be distributed in 68 national and regional pavilions. The participation of 776 new exhibitors stands out, as well as the presence of about twenty new participating countries, such as Barbados, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Switzerland, Austria, Pakistan, Philippines, or Seychelles.
Another novelty this year is the institutional return of Galicia, which did not attend the 2022 edition after the arrival of Seafood in Barcelona aroused suspicions in Conxemar, the Galician fair that has historically been the sector's benchmark in Spain. "We welcome Galicia; we have shown that the two shows can coexist," Plizga emphasized.
Space for Spanish companies doubles
In addition to increasing the surface area by 21% compared to Brussels, another notable effect of the fair's move to Barcelona is the substantial increase in the participation of Spanish companies in Seafood. Thus, Spain will have an 18% share in the fair this year, occupying 8,757 square meters, which is more than double the surface area in Brussels (3,905 m²).
The general director of Fira de Barcelona, Constantí Serrallonga, expressed his satisfaction that the Catalan capital "is the new home" for a show that is a benchmark in its sector and contributes to reinforcing the institution's commitment to professional and highly internationalized shows. "The arrival of this fair is great news for Barcelona. It is another example of how an event arrives at our venue and the city to consolidate and grow, boost business, and be a driving force for its participants, its industry, and its ecosystem," Serrallonga pointed out. The director of Fira notes that Seafood also helps to "reinforce the fair institution's positioning in the food sector, a key sector for the economy."
The event, which will occupy halls 4 and 5 of Gran Via, is actually subdivided into two fairs: Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global. The first show brings together seafood suppliers from all over the world, whether fresh, frozen, canned, or processed fish. In this case, visitors are large fish buyers, including supermarket chains, importers, distributors, restaurants, hotels, and catering companies. In parallel, Seafood Processing is a fair for materials and equipment for processing seafood products, such as packaging, refrigeration, or freezing machinery.