There was optimism at this year’s Seafood Expo in North America despite economic challenges still being felt post-pandemic.
“You have the cuttlefish, American red snapper—a beautiful fish,” one exhibitor introduced freshly caught seafood to visitors at the event held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center from March 10 to 12.
Organizers said this year’s exhibit space spanned 249,665 net square feet, which was 5 percent larger than last year’s event and hosted 1,210 exhibiting companies from 49 countries.
Steve Hart, Senior Vice President of the Global Seafood Alliance, said one of the biggest challenges for the industry in the past few years was the pandemic’s shutdown of food services.
“Because of the disruption to the supply chain, we saw a lot of over-production of seafood, so right now there’s a lot of seafood sitting in cold storage, and even to this day, a couple of years after the pandemic, a lot of that seafood is still sitting there,” he said.
The challenge, he said, was how to get that seafood to the market and into the hands of consumers but still be profitable when there’s plenty of fish.
Megan Du Preez, president of Humble and Frank Food, said they liked to connect with locals at the expo.
“Finding new flavors as well, trend on South American flavors, or a little bit of fusion, Asian flavors there as well. So, we really try and push and stay foodie, but stay relevant as well,” she said.
Diana Dumetm, senior director of a salmon company called MOWI, said that salmon continued to be the driver in seafood sales, at least in fin fish, but consumers were also adjusting their palette.
“They’re demanding more, which is good. Asking for better quality and variety,” she said.
Ted Brozanski, CEO of Lake Trucking/Stokes Fish Co., said before COVID, his business was growing at a rate of about 15 percent to 16 percent a year.
“During COVID, we actually grew at a rate of about 20 percent. Since then it’s kind of waned down a little bit. I think it’s an economic kind of situation, but we’re very optimistic,” he said.
Mr. Brozanski said other exhibitors also believed the seafood industry would continue to grow.
