Malaysian companies plan to exceed US$1.59 million seafood exports to UAE recorded in 2008

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A 14-member Malaysian delegation is set to participate in the upcoming ‘Sea Food Expo 2009’, the region’s only dedicated seafood event, as part of extensive plans to exceed the USD 1.59 million seafood exports recorded by the country to the UAE in 2008. The participation is also aimed at increasing the value of its overall fish and fishery exports to the Middle East, which is currently at USD 5 million, according to INFOFISH, an intergovernmental organisation that provides marketing information and technical advisory services to the fishery industry of the Asia-Pacific region. With high profile participants set to stage extensive presence at the event, Orange Fair & Events, the event organisers, have revealed that the show continues to strengthen Dubai’s repute as the best destination to promote Halal seafood products to the Middle East market.

With an estimated 10 to 15 tons of seafood being auctioned off within the Dubai fish market on a daily basis, the seafood trade in the emirate remains thriving amidst the current recession. Dubai’s relatively affluent expatriate community and its hospitality sector also make the emirate an excellent hub for Halal seafood imports and exports from across the globe. Among the products to be exhibited at the show, which is slated to run from October 12 to 14, 2009 at the Madinat Arena Conference Hall, Madinat Jumeirah, are frozen white HOSO shrimp, cooked and peeled sea shrimp, cuttlefish and squid, raw peeled shrimp, frozen tiger prawns, surimi based products, and tuna floss.

“With the Middle East fast becoming one of the leading hubs for Halal seafood trade, Malaysian companies are very interested in exposing their high quality certified Halal seafood products to prospective regional and global customers in the country,” said Dr. S. Subasinghe, Director, INFOFISH. “In line with this, we support our member countries in their participation at the ‘Sea Food Expo 2009’ and in their aims to establish contacts with potential buyers in the Middle East, which will highly impact their growth and development plans for the Halal seafood export industry to the region.”

Launched in 1981 as a project of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, INFOFISH is committed to promoting fishery products from its member countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Iran, DPR Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, The Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Thailand. Its activities include bringing buyers and sellers together, publications of current and long-term marketing information and provision of technical advisory and specialized services.

“Dubai continues to be an ideal destination for ‘Sea Food Expo 2009’, given the accessibility to the globe’s primary Halal market and the huge demand for seafood in the local market itself. As a testament to the growing popularity of the event among global exhibitors, we continue to receive confirmations and are expecting to attract more than 200 companies from 33 countries. We are also pleased to see that more prominent industry related organisations, such as INFOFISH, among others, are investing in participating in the event,” concluded Nafees Ahmed, Project Manager, Orange Fairs & Events.

‘Sea Food Expo 2009’ is expected to welcome some of the UAE’s largest seafood companies, including Deep Seafood LLC, East Fish Processing LLC, Continental Food Processing LLC, IFTRA, Ocean Fisheries LLC, ABT Consulting FZE, and Magenta Fish & Seafood Supply LLC. In addition, relevant government organisations from across the globe, including Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers, Turkish Seafood Promotion Committee, Canadian Sablefish Association, New Brunswick Department of Fisheries (Canada), Marine Export Promotion and Development Authority - MEPDA (India), and the Department of Fisheries of Malaysia, Department of Fisheries of Thailand, China Aquatic Products Processing & Marketing Association - CAPPMA, and Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries - MOMAF (Republic of Indonesia) have also confirmed their endorsement and participation at the event.