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Asia hungry for B.C. seafood
By Fabian Dawson
When it comes to China and seafood, C Pearl’s team of culinary artists in Shanghai, Beijing, Fuzhou, and Wuxi know that British Columbia produces some of the best shellfish the world has to offer.
That is why Xu Shuang Shuang, the company’s purchasing and marketing director, is making a beeline for this year’s B.C. Seafood Expo.
The event in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island on June 12 and 13 is one of the largest seafood industry trade shows in the Pacific Northwest. The Expo is wrapped around the 2019 BC Seafood Festival which will be held from June 7 to 16.
C Pearl Oyster Dining is a China-based restaurant group that is famed for its focus on bringing the freshest flavors from the sea to our guests, said Xu.
He is looking to import oysters, clams, mussels and scallops from BC’s harvesters.
Like C Pearl, two dozen other Asian seafood companies together with others from Europe and North America will be attending this year’s B.C. Seafood Expo to seek out the bounty of BC’s seas.
“This is the largest international buyer’s delegation in the history of the BC Seafood Expo,” said
said John Watson, executive director of the Comox Valley Economic Development, the organization that collaborates with a wide range of seafood organizations and institutions to develop the Expo annually.
“The demand for BC seafood in Asia has been growing every year and this event brings provides a venue to network with industry leaders, international buyers, distributors, and educators for every type of fish, seafood, and seafood-related products and services,” said Watson.
This year the visiting Asian nations include China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Over the years, Expo organizers, have worked with the Ministry of Jobs Trade and Technology, Global Affairs Canada, BC Salmon Farmers, and BC Shellfish Growers to host scores of seafood buyers, the majority from key Asian markets.
Trade and Invest B.C, which helps international businesses source sustainable local natural resources, said British Columbia’s high-quality seafood products are in demand globally.
“The province is rapidly increasing exports to growing markets such as China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. With a strong reputation for quality products and a strategic geographic location on the west coast of Canada, B.C. seafood producers are in a position to continue expanding exports in a growing global market,” the agency said.
South Korea is a developing opportunity for our seafood exports as more than 90% of Canada’s exports are eligible for duty-free access to South Korea.
In China, the rapidly expanding middle class has resulted in increased demand for the high-quality seafood products B.C. can provide. Seafood exports, particularly crab, geoduck clams, hake, and herring are top Canadian exports to China. British Columbia exported $257-million worth of wild-caught seafood to China by wholesale value in 2017.
“With a strong reputation for abundant, diverse produce and a strategic geographic location on the West Coast of Canada, B.C. agrifoods producers are in a position to continue expanding into the growing markets in Japan and Korea,” said a joint statement by Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, and George Chow, Minister of State for Trade, after their trade mission to Asia last March.
Several of the British Columbia’s trade and investment representatives from Asia are expected to attend the Seafood Expo.
“Markets in Asia are showing huge potential for BC salmon with year-over-year growth more than doubling in many markets,” said John Paul Fraser, the executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association.
He said farm-raised salmon is B.C.’s highest valued seafood product, the province’s top agricultural export, and generates over $1.5-billion towards the B.C. economy, resulting in over 6,600 jobs.
About BC Seafood Expo Trade Show 2019
The BC Seafood Expo Trade Show 2019 will provide businesses the opportunity to meet face-to-face and showcase their products & services to seafood buyers, exporters, distributors and other providers from throughout BC and the pacific northwest.
For more information and how to register go to https://bcseafoodexpo.com/
The Asian buyers and what they are looking for
CHINA
Abysmal Sea World Fishier - Geoduck, Dungeness Crab, Lobster, Oyster
Alibaba-Hema - Dungeness crab, new lobsters, cold water shrimp, clam, geoduck, fish
Pearl Oyster Dining - Oysters, mussels, clams, scallops.
Guotong Logistic City Co., Ltd - Lobsters, Crabs, Geoducks, Oysters
Pacific Rich Resources Limited - Black cod, Halibut, Wild caught salmon, Dungeness crabs, and lobsters
Qingdao Beiyang Jiamei Seafood Co., ltd - Coldwater shrimp, halibut, crab, black cod, salmon, clams
Shanghai SeaWorld International Trading Co., Ltd. - High-quality spot prawns which are certified by Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
SOUTH KOREA
Elbon F&B - Snow Crab, Salmon Roe, and other premium seafood in both raw and processed forms
Shinsegae Food - Salmon (jerky and candy), Shrimps, and other premium seafood
SSG.COM - Canadian Lobster, salmon.
SINGAPORE
Angliss Singapore Pte Ltd - Various type of Seafood, Live, Fresh and Frozen
Evergreen Seafood Pte Ltd - Live Dungeness Crabs, Live Canadian Oysters, Live Geoducks
Indoguna (Singapore) Pte Ltd - Oysters & other molluscs, Fish portions and fillets, lobsters and other crustaceans.
HONG KONG
Eurosia Group - full range of frozen marine products.
Sun Wah Marine Products (HK) Co Ltd - salmon, sea cucumber, shellfish for food service and retail customers in Hong Kong and Macau.
VIETNAM
Ha Long Canfoco – Danang Co. Ltd. - Canned/Pouched Tuna, mackerel, sardine and frozen Seafood
Hung Long Food Company - wild Pacific salmon, farmed Atlantic salmon, Pacific sardine, Sea cucumber
Red Sun - Salmon, Crab, Snow crab, crawfish, lobster, squid (Loligo and Illex), shrimp, tuna, oyster, mussel, clams, cold water shrimp and seafood related products.
Thanh Phuong Tratechen Co., Ltd - Dungeness crabs, geoduck, wild Pacific salmon, sablefish, Pacific halibut, Pacific sardine, shellfish, groundfish, sea urchin, sea cucumber
Thao Tien Co., Ltd - Fish Mackerel, Salmon, Tuna
Thien Vuong Foods (Ace Foods) - Salmon, Spot prawns, Shrimp, Black cod, Oyster and Crab.
JAPAN
Hokubu Foods Inc./ Hokkaido Sanchoku Foods. Co., - Sockeye salmon, Silver cod, Kazunoko, Sockeye green row and other seafood.
Ihara & Company, Ltd. - Primarily spot prawns and hake and roe on kelp.
Kurahashijima Kaisan Co., Ltd. - Sockeye, Rock fish, Shellfish, crab
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B.C. Seafood Expo 2019 to showcase bounty of our oceans
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