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

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.

© 2009 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)