The Philippines’ seafood industry, particularly shrimp, is eager to boost and relive the Asian countries’ presence in the global market this year. Fisherfarms, one of the largest seafood processors in the Philippines, in its participation in the Seafood Expo Global 2023, targets to reach its shrimp production to 40,000-50,000 metric tons annually.
The firm is passionate about reviving the Philippines’ presence back on the shrimp trade map after its downturn caused by shrimp disease. In 2022, based on the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Tradeline Philippines- the export of fish, fresh or preserved, of which: shrimps & prawns ranked 17 in the Philippines’ top export products, which is an increase from rank 19 in 2021. (http://www.tradelinephilippines.dti.gov.ph)
Despite the growing market of the industry, there are challenges that impact its competitiveness as shrimp production is only nine to 10 months of the year in the Philippines. Fisherfarms highlighted that “if you do not have the volume in producing regularly, you cannot build up the capability to be productive and very competitive.”
Despite the challenges, the industry is resilient and keeps innovating and leveraging value-added shrimp products. One example is Fisherfarms’ “corn and coconut” shrimp, which became finalist who competed against huge brands like Pescanova etc. at Seafood Expo Global’s product innovation awards this year.
Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global was held on 27 April 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. It is the world’s largest trade expo for the seafood industry, with an estimated over 34,000 buyers and suppliers from the global seafood industry, with 2,078 exhibiting companies from 87 different countries coming to the event.
The next Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global will be held in Barcelona, from 23-25 April 2024, at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía venue.
For further information, visit www.seafoodexpo.com/global. PKC