Record Irish presence at Chinese Seafood Expo
Eleven Irish seafood companies are exhibiting on the Irish Pavilion organised by Bord Bia at China Seafood & Fisheries Expo, Qingdao, (5-7/11) before an expected 25,000 buyers from over 100 countries.
Speaking at the event, Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, said that Ireland had some of the finest seafood worldwide, which was sustainably harvested from pure clean waters.
Minister Simon Coveney (right) with Chan Shi and Cathal King, Kings of Connemara
“Business development and trade show events such as these are invaluable in building awareness of our high quality produce to an influential, targeted trade audience. China continues to be a growing market for Irish seafood, with exports increasing by over 300% since 2011 to reach €18m in 2013.”
This strong trend in Irish exports is reflected in 2014 with sales for the first six months up 56% compared to the same period last year. In 2013, China’s seafood trade surpassed €20bn in value, cementing its position as the world’s leading seafood trading country.
China currently accounts for one-quarter of the world’s seafood consumption and the United Nation’s FAO predicts that China will need an extra 16 million tonnes of seafood by 2020 to meet growing demand.
“The strong Irish representation from both the pelagic and shellfish sectors demonstrates the commitment of both industry and government to deepen ties and strengthen relationships with our Chinese customers,” Minister Coveney added.
While the Chinese market concentrates mainly on pelagic species, significant effort has been invested by Irish processors and Bord Bia over the past three years to identify and develop opportunities for premium shellfish, such as live and processed brown crab, langoustines, scallops and razor fish.
“Strong and sustained growth in exports demonstrates the continued success of Ireland’s leading shellfish processors in penetrating this valuable market. Exports of shellfish to China, for example, increased in value by over 200% between 2012 and 2013, while exports to Hong Kong increased by 117% during the same period,” remarked Aidan Cotter, Bord Bia chief executive.
He added that the Irish Food board has “ambitious plans” to further grow the share of Irish seafood into China.
“We have programmes in place to assist Irish seafood processors identify, profile and target, new customers that are willing to pay a premium for quality seafood from Ireland.”
Irish seafood enjoys ongoing and increasing market access to China whereby international trade in food is based upon a reciprocated trust in food safety systems. Trade missions to Ireland by high-end Chinese retail and foodservice customers showcase the world-class environment in which Irish seafood is produced, and provide a guarantee on traceability, sustainability and food safety.
“The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, as regulator, verifies the safety and sustainability of Irish seafood and we welcome this Chinese confidence in the robustness of the assurance systems we implement,” said Dr Susan Steele, Chair, SFPA.
During the past three years, Bord Bia has welcomed over 25 Asian customers to Ireland. In March 2015, a further 17 Asian buyers are projected to agree new business with leading seafood processors estimated to be worth €7m for the seafood sector.
