The 12th Guangzhou International Fishing Fair

       The 12th Guangzhou Fishery Expo has just wrapped up. Four exhibitions were held concurrently, at a scale of 30,000 square metres, with over 600 leading fishery enterprises and sourcing resources covering 82 countries and regions. With the Bay Area as a springboard and global buyers selecting goods on site, this is this year’s showcase for seafood going global. Seafood exports are no longer as simple as ‘freezing the fish well and shipping it overseas’.

       The first signal: provinces are no longer going it alone. Zhanjiang marine ranches bring golden pomfret, prawns, oysters and smart cages; Yangcheng Fish Fresh and Qingxin mandarin fish build high-end freshwater brands; Yantai sea cucumber and Changdao abalone head north; Shandong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Liaoning join forces. The point is not ‘who produces the most’, but turning places of origin into brands. Local specialty seafood and prepared-dish varieties are more comprehensive than in previous years.

       Second, catering and seafood no longer operate in silos. This edition features a Guangdong Fresh Products Culinary Event, turning raw materials into restaurant dishes. Individual visitors taste and experience; catering buyers obtain recipes; seafood processors sell not only ingredients, but also ‘dish solutions’.

       Third, both supply sources and buyers are more international. Thailand’s official delegation brings shrimp, surimi and prepared seafood; South Korea presents deep-sea frozen products and Korean-style prepared foods; Ecuador promotes deep-processed white shrimp. Buyers on site cover traders, supermarkets, factories and catering — what overseas markets want is not only low-priced frozen shrimp, but specifications, certifications, traceability and menu-readiness.

       As global exporters compete on the same stage, where is the way forward for domestically produced seafood? According to 2025 national fishery statistics, annual seafood export volume reached 4.5824 million tonnes, up 8.11% year on year. Many manufacturers have excellent products and want to secure international orders, but are held up by export qualifications and product compliance. What enterprises often lack is not the product, but that ‘market access pass’. Jade Premium, based in Hong Kong and connected to the world, provides one-stop go-global services for enterprises, so that good products can be seen by more people.