Vietnam’s burgeoning seafood industry, whose contribution to the national exchequer is large, seeks to capture markets in the Middle East as part of a worldwide export expansion campaign.

The annual turnover of Vietnam’s seafood industry crossed the $3.75 billion mark in 2007, reflecting a 12 per cent increment as compared to 2006 figures, according to the latest reports published by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The seafood industry has grown to become the country’s fourth largest revenue earner, fuelling Vietnam’s position as one among the top 10 exporters in the highly competitive global market. With aims of further exposing their fisheries and aquaculture products to the Middle East market, two Vietnam-based seafood producers successfully participated in the recently concluded Sea Food Expo 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dubai.
The participation of leading seafood producers Le Anh Company and Mekong Group at the expo was highlighted by a showcasing of Vietnam’s renowned seafood products and was reflective of the Vietnamese Government’s aim to double its shipments to demanding markets such as the EU, US, Japan and the Middle East.
The Vietnamese participants have recognised the tremendous opportunities to carry out trade promotions, build brand awareness and highlight their capabilities. The companies’ intensified activities in the event were in line with Vietnam’s significant strides towards reaching its 2008 seafood industry annual turnover target of $4.25 billion.
“The Vietnamese government has clearly identified the need to target the booming seafood market in the Middle East, which has emerged as a top destination for seafood exports among leading sources across the globe,” said Raees Ahmed, director, Orange Fairs & Events.
 “As the first widely-recognised exhibition dedicated to the seafood industry in the region, we have provided emerging seafood exporters such as Vietnam a result-driven platform to establish important business ties and build their own name in the international seafood arena. More importantly, we are proud to have played a significant role in advancing a vital global industry”.
In addition to penetrating estab-lished seafood markets, Vietnam is also looking into tapping the new and potential-laden seafood markets of Africa, South America, China, Canada and South Korea. Through their participation at the expo, both Vietnamese companies successfully capitalised on the huge number of international attendees within the event. The inaugural Sea Food Expo attracted 5,000 visitors from across the globe who gathered to gain industry knowledge and new technologies in seafood processing, and foster business relationships with local, regional and international companies within the event’s three-day run.
“Through the participation of leading international and regional exhibitors from the global seafood industry, it brings us tremendous pride to announce that the first Sea Food Expo 2007 has ended with a resounding success,” said Ahmed. “Having facilitated an outstanding number of sales and closed deals, and with 95 per cent of exhibitors confirming for bigger participation in the next edition, we are looking forward to mounting Sea Food Expo 2008 with expectations to beat the records we had set last year,” he said.
 Ahmed said the success of the fair had motivated his organisation to work harder to establish the Sea Food Expo as a one-of-a-kind industry exhibition, by enhancing the capacity of the event to accommodate more participants, while developing more features to complement the requirements of both exhibitors and buyers from across the globe.
While Orange Fairs is the organiser of the Middle East’s first exhibition dedicated to the seafood industry, it is involved with the organisation of more than 100 exhibitions in Africa, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Middle East and Eastern Europe. The prominent events company has a portfolio that includes a wide range of industries such as oil and gas, telecommunications, IT, health, auto-mobiles and gold and jewellery.
Also in the portfolio are electrical and electronics, manufacturing, metalworking, printing and packaging, hotels and the building and construction sector.