'Sea Food Expo 2008' opens today

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        'caption' => '(L-R) Raees Ahmed, Director, Orange Fairs & Events; Ahmed M. Shaker, Project Promotion Expert & Head of Exhibitions, Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID); and H.E. Sara Hradecky, Canadian Ambassador to the UAE.',
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The exhibition is slated to run from October 27 - 29, 2008 at the Madinat Arena Conference Hall in Madinat Jumeriah Hotel and has attracted the participation of 185 exhibitors from 30 countries. The event will serve as a powerful platform for regional and international companies to showcase their products and developments in technology, equipment and services, and tap into the Middle East's booming seafood market.

In addition to the global delegations, some of whom will be coming from the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, Brazil, Holland, Taiwan, Malaysia, Spain, India, China, Cyprus, Vietnam, Morocco, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, Yemen, Mauritius, Egypt, Myanmar Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. 16 local companies are also set to highlight their advanced seafood processing techniques, including cold storage systems, packaging equipment, furnishings and fittings to trade visitors at the event. Furthermore, this year's 'Sea Food Expo' will also focus on assisting chefs, buyers, traders, importers and exporters in sourcing supplies of a wide selection of high quality seafood products and establish key networks within the regional seafood market.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ahmed M. Shaker, said:

'The seafood market holds enormous potential to become one of the largest and most important revenue generating industries that drives the economic prosperity of the UAE. As such, I believe that it is important for local companies to leverage events such as 'Sea Food Expo' as it brings together a wide spectrum of regional and global organisations operating within the seafood market, thereby allowing fruitful collaborations among these companies to ensue, and ultimately encourage the market to grow further. I am positive that 'Sea Food Expo 2008' will be a resounding success, and I would like to congratulate the organiser of this event for this outstanding initiative.'

The exhibitors' products will be featured at a number of national pavilions, which will be located within the event venue, where trade visitors can know more about the quality processes and policies that go into the manufacturing of global seafood products. Having garnered the support of international public ministries, industry bodies, and several government agencies from across the globe, 'Sea Food Expo 2008' has also welcomed influential organisations to the event, including the New Brunswick Department of Fisheries, Underwater Harvest Association, the Consulate of Canada in Dubai, the Malaysian Department of Fisheries, the Vietnam Seafood Exporters Association, the Taiwan Frozen Seafood Industry Association and Canadian Sablefish Association, the Marine Export Promotion and Development Authority (MEPDA) India, the Department of Fisheries Thailand and the Myanmar Fishery Products Processors and Exporters Association (MPEA).

'The ever-growing expatriate population in the Middle East has been fuelling the increase in demand for fisheries and aquaculture products in the region. 'Sea Food Expo 2008' is a response to the growing Middle East seafood market, and we are delighted to see the unprecedented response the show has generated from international and local exhibitors. We have invited the world's top seafood producing countries to ensure that only the highest-quality products and cutting-edge technologies will be on display, and we bid all the exhibiting companies a successful participation,'

concluded Raees Ahmed.

In addition to the products being showcased, customers can also benefit from the live food stations, interactive demonstrations and seminars, which will be running alongside the exhibition. 'Sea Food Expo 2008' is set to attract buyers and representatives from food service, hospitality, retail, import/export, packaging, aquaculture services and other sectors, in a bid to satisfy the growing demand for quality sea food products, equipments for preservation and transportation of seafood, and the latest technology advancement in the seafood industry.