The Taiwanese pavilion at Seafood Expo Global expanded from 17 to 19 exhibiting companies in 2019, with both newcomers and longtime exhibitors making a more concerted push to sales their wares into Europe.
“We want them to know they can find what they’re looking for in Taiwan,” Tzu-jung Wu, the secretary general of the Taiwan Frozen Seafood Industries Association, told SeafoodSource.
With a presence at SEG since 2003, the Taiwanese pavilion has been a mainstay of the expo for many years. But the country still doesn’t do as much business in Europe as it should, Wu said.
“Our members coming here hope they can do more export to Europe,” he said.
Taiwan’s most popular seafood products are tuna, tilapia, Pacific saury, and squid, but the country’s biggest strength is its wide menu of options.
“We have a large wild-catch fleet. We do aquaculture. We do processing. We have many different kinds of products to meet the specific needs of any market,” Wu said.
Erik said the country’s seafood marketing organization said it has instituted a countrywide focus on three objectives: producing quality products, especially on the frozen side; keeping prices competitive; and innovating creative new products.
Four companies chosen by Wu to highlight the strength and diversity of Taiwan’s seafood offerings were Li Jia Energy, which farms grouper in net pens; Fortune Life, which produces seafood dumplings from its farm-raised tilapia and sea bass; Ocean Treasure, which controls a large and diverse collection of fishing vessels; and Land Young Foods, which makes sushi toppings using seafood and sea vegetables.
“We already sell in Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Sweden – in 30 countries total. But we are here to find new clients, and also see if there is new types of products,” Land Young President Ken Lok said.
Land Young’s strength is its wide variety of products – its catalog spans more than 10 pages, with dozens of products listed on each page, and its ability to customize packaging.
“If our clients wants anything customized, we can do it,” he said.
Chien Han Chen, the general manager of Lijia Green Energy Biotechnology, said his company is ramping up production of its grouper raised by aquaculture from 1,000 metric tons (MT) annually to as much as 1,500 MT in 2019. Lijia shifted the entirety of its land-based operation into net-pens last year to increase production and decrease costs, improve taste, and reduce the company’s environmental impact, Han said.
The company sells its grouper in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, but wants to break into the European and U.S. markets, Han said.
“Our product is for the high-end market, but it is still reasonably priced, and we are working to reduce it further,” he said. “We hope our quality will get those customers in Europe. We have had very good interest at this show, with many potential customers very interested in our product.”
Han said there is rising concern in Asia about plastic pollution affecting wild-caught fish. He says fish raised via aquaculture are gaining a competitive advantage as a result.
“If you catch fish from wild areas, you don’t know what they eat. But we are able to control their diets and with fish cultured in sea cages, the quality is more stable,” Han said. “It’s what more customers are looking for.”
