The twenty-third edition of the Conxemar 2022 International Frozen Seafood Fair, held every year in the Galician city of Vigo, has seen the participation of an entrepreneurial delegation coordinated by the National Chamber of Aquaculture of Ecuador (CNA). The Ecuadorian pavilion “First Class Shrimp” has an area of 300 square meters and brings together 16 shrimp companies, making it the largest pavilion with which Ecuador participates in the event.
The exhibition was held this year in the Spanish port city from October 4 to 6 in an exhibition area of 37,000 square meters, the largest in its history.
The Ecuadorian delegation was made up of Cofimar, Edpacif, Expalsa, Frigolandia, Grupo Almar, Langosmar, Natluk, Nirsa, Omarsa, Procamaronex, Proexpo, Promarosa, Songa, SSP, Total Seafood and Winrep.
The products of the Ecuadorian fisheries and aquaculture sector are of great interest to the Spanish market, especially shrimp and tuna. In addition, Ecuador’s presence at the Galician fair is of the utmost importance for future plans for the Latin American country’s trade relations with Spain.
700 companies from 43 countries
For many years, Conxemar has become an important international showcase for seafood, with an exhibition that brings together 700 companies from 43 countries. Among them are importers, exporters, processors, manufacturers, distributors, refrigerators, machinery, and auxiliary industries.
This exhibition has established itself as one of the most important in the world for the sector, both in terms of attendance and business volume.
“The frozen fish sector is of great importance for Spanish foreign trade. In 2021, exports reached a value of 2,314.2 million euros and imports 4,344.12 million euros.”
The “Conxemar-FAO 2022 International Congress” was also held within the framework of this fair. Under the theme “Transformation and commercialization of seafood, current and future challenges”, high-level experts and professionals in the field of fisheries gathered to analyze the future of the fishing industry in a context marked by inflation, high costs for the industry and the loss of consumer purchasing power.
“Ecuador open for business,” in Madrid
While shrimp farmers participated in Conxemar, Spain hosted a new edition of the investment forum “Ecuador Open for Business,” the meeting where the country presents its potential for investment. 170 Spanish entrepreneurs participated, seeking information about the climate and investment opportunities in Ecuador.
On this occasion, the forum was held in Madrid, where it deepened the excellent bilateral economic, political, and social relations between the two countries.
“Entrepreneurs, investors, and government institutions at the highest level learned about Ecuador’s great potential for business in tourism, infrastructure, energy transition and digitalization, among others.”
The Ministers of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, of Transport and Public Works, Darío Herrera, and of Tourism, Niels Olsen, as well as the Technical Secretary for Public-Private Cooperation of the Republic of Ecuador, Roberto Salas, were in charge of presenting the investment opportunities in Ecuador.
At the event, Minister Prado said that a 3% growth in GDP is expected this year. He also said that “thanks to the fact that the Ecuadorian economy is dollarized, one of the lowest inflation rates in the entire region and one of the lowest in the world is achieved, a figure that is very interesting at a time when in Europe and the United States figures of almost 9% are achieved.”
For his part, Roberto Salas, technical secretary of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships and Delegated Administration, said that ensuring the legal security of foreign investment in the Republic of Ecuador is a priority of the government. The Office of Public-Private Partnerships, created in November 2021, aims to improve legal certainty, he said.
Foreign trade figures
Spain is one of Ecuador’s main trading partners, first in the European Union and the fifth destination for Ecuador’s non-oil exports to the world. From January to July 2022, non-oil exports to Spain reached $517 million, representing a growth of 33.3% ($129.0 million) compared to the same period in 2021.
Likewise, according to the Ecuadorian National Customs Agency (Senae), there are 832 Ecuadorian companies exporting non-oil products with final destination Spain.
Ecuador exports to Spain mainly products from the agri-food sector, such as shrimp, canned fish, flowers and bananas, but recently other products such as chia, quinoa or pitahaya are gaining importance.
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