The 2025 Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global show, the world’s largest and most diverse seafood trade event, brought more than 35,000 seafood industry professionals to Barcelona, Spain for three days of opportunities for collaboration about the latest food trends, innovations, and challenges facing the sector.
This year’s event, which ran from 6 to 8 May, occupied more than 51,217 net square meters of exhibit space, bringing more than 2000 exhibiting companies from 87 countries, as well as 68 national pavilions, to Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via Venue, according to event organizer Diversified. [Editor’s note: Diversified owns and operates SeafoodSource.]
“The exhibit floor was full of energy over the past three days as a truly international meeting place for the global seafood industry to achieve their annual business objectives,” Diversified Seafood Vice President Wynter Courmont said. “Exhibitors and visitors alike use this global platform to strengthen relationships with existing clients, connect with new prospects, build strategic partnerships and stay informed about the latest industry developments.”
The economic impact of the 2025 event is an estimated EUR 156 million (USD 175 million) for the city of Barcelona, Diversified said in a press release.
Numerous countries that hadn’t previously participated attended the 2025 show, among them Albania, Egypt, Georgia, Greenland, Malta, Nigeria, and Réunion. The event was also attended by new national and regional pavilions from Agencia de Gestion Agraria y Pesquera de Andalucia, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), Japan Federation of Soy Sauce Manufacturers Cooperatives, ProEcuador, Sri Lanka Export Development Board and Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial, IVACE (Spain) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).
One exhibitor who took part in the Processing side of the Expo, Ocean Perfect CEO Andrew Lively, said that the event was essential for his live seafood logistics company because it is the only place he can “access global seafood suppliers all in one place.”
“Everybody we want to talk to is here at Seafood Expo Global,” he said. "I have been coming to Seafood Expo Global for over 14 years and there's no question that every year, there are new things to see, new people to meet and new things to learn. The people we are most interested in showing our system to are here."
Sea Price LLC Managing Director Mohamed Ameen Sait, whose business participated in the Seafood side of the expo, said that the show was providing “very good exposure … and at the same time, we are also able to meet a lot of new clients and existing clients.”
Sait said he was excited by the prospect of accessing product development, expert analysis, and processing innovations all in one place.
"We … see the product development from all over the world, and this is a showcase for us to understand what happens in the fisheries," he said. “We are getting a lot of inquiries and new clients, and at the same time, we also have access to a lot of different countries' information and products. We are now bringing our product to other parts of the world, and we can't wait to maintain and upgrade our processing lines."
Numerous experts were on hand as part of the expo’s conference program to help seafood industry stakeholders navigate the sector’s challenges. More than 20 conference sessions led by over 80 international experts across the seafood industry.
Topics explored key issues surrounding the current dynamics and emerging trends in the global sector including aquaculture, sustainability, traceability, regulations, seafood processing, seafood marketing, consumer behavior, market trends, tariffs, trade patterns and more.
The conference’s keynote speaker, Columbia University economist Xavier Sala-i-Martin highlighted the key trends currently facing the global economy and explored their implications for strategic commodity sectors in a 7 May address.
Sala-i-Martin discussed the impacts of trade wars, tariffs, inflation and international conflicts and offered insights into navigating and adapting to new economic uncertainties, the importance of understanding evolving global dynamics and how to drive progress with advances in technology, innovation and AI.
Additionally, the annual Seafood Excellence Global Awards took place on 6 May, recognizing the best products represented at the expo. Top honors for Best Retail Product went to Vičiūnai Group of Lithuania for its Cold-smoked Atlantic Salmon with Truffles and Kalaneuvos Oy of Finland, whose Trout Bacon won the grand prize for Best Hotel, Restaurant, or Catering (HORECA) product.
Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global also hosted the “Connecting Women in Seafood” reception and networking event on 7 May, which provided attendees space to connect, share experiences and expand their professional network with a goal in mind: to create a more inclusive and thriving seafood industry.
The Barcelona Food Bank, Banc dels Aliments, received all food donations from exhibitors, through the collaboration of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global.
The next Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global will take place in Barcelona, from 21-23 April 2026, at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Vía venue. For further information visit www.seafoodexpo.com/global.
