11 May 2016 – A delegation of 12 Philippine seafood companies joined the Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global held from April 26 to 28 in Brussels. The Seafood Philippines delegation, led by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service of the Department of Agriculture, was welcomed by Philippine Ambassador to Belgium Victoria S Bataclan and other officials of the Philippine Embassy/Mission to the EU.

The 12 companies include: Bluefin Seafood Export, Inc; D&L Seafoods; EM Buenaventura Trading; Fisherfarms, Inc; Fri Seafood Trading; Jam Seafoods, Inc; Jarla Trading; JN Mercado Seafood Supply; Nuevo Fresco Marine Trading Corporation; Philfresh Corporation; Phil-Union Frozen Foods, Inc; and RDEZ Food International Philippines, Inc.

This Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global is a yearly event, said to be the world’s largest seafood trade fair, featuring more than 1,700 exhibitors from over 75 countries.

Many of the participating PH companies said they have observed a surge in demand for their products especially following the implementation of the European Union’s GSP+ arrangement which entered into force in December 2014. The Philippines has also become a more attractive source of seafood produce in the EU, having been issued a green card for its active efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in April 2015. END