MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fishing exhibition in Spain closes with 500 million Euros in business contracts

Paz-Andrade stressed the “professionalism” and “internationalisation” of WFE 2009.

Companies that participated in the sixth edition of the World Fishing Exhibition (WFE) that was held in Vigo between 16 and 19 September, closed contracts worth around EUR 500 million. According to the fishing fair organisation, this number could be higher when the complete balance of all the exhibitors is tallied.

During the four days of the event, to which more than 70,000 visitors attended, estimates indicate, the present and future of fishing was analysed and aquaculture took on a special role with the celebration of Aqua Farming International.

Besides the volume of registered business, the WFE was able to generate more than EUR 100 million in revenue in Vigo and on its area of influence in trips, hotels, restaurants and other sectors.

The president of the exhibition executive committee of the exhibition, Alfonso Paz-Andrade, announced that given the success the possibility of celebrating the event every four or five years, instead of six, will be considered extensively, “given the effort and the will needed to organise a fair of this nature”.

“I have the shared feeling of having fulfilled our mission. We close a WFE show of a most high technological level with an optimum number of participants” emphasised Paz-Andrade who underlined the “professionalism” and “internationalisation” of WFE 2009.

In terms of business deals, Paz-Andrade emphasised that it is “uncommon” in Spain to achieve what was achieved by Galician companies with their counterparts from the United States, Russia and South Africa. These countries, together with Brazil, India, China and Spain, absorb 90% of the contracts reached at the WFE.

Ibercisa and Hermasa are two companies from Vigo that sealed major business deals. The president of Grupo Boluda, Vicente Boluda, took advantage of his visit to sign specific deals with equipment firms, like Ibercisa, to provide equipment for his fishing vessels.

Recently, Boluda created the fishing firm Boluda Fishing and is having several vessels built in Levante shipyards.

In terms of visitors, Juan Manuel Vieites, vice-president of the executive committee of the WFE, commented: “There were delegations of executives who flew in, spent 45 minutes at the fair, closed the contract and returned to their countries,” Faro de Vigo reports. Ship owners from Russia and Brazil closed contracts with naval repair and equipment goods firms.

The head of the Secretariat General of Marine Affairs of Spain, Juan Carlos Martin Fragueiro and the director of the Federal Fisheries Agency of the Russian Federation, Andrey Krayniy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in fishing cooperation matters.

Moscow anticipates investing EUR 10 billion in the development of coastal infrastructures – shipyards – for the repair of old factory vessels from the former Soviet Union and for the construction of 500 new fishing vessels.

Xunta de Galicia Councillor of Marine Affairs Rosa Quintana made a “very positive” assessment of the exhibition. In addition, the role of the Xunta in “aquaculture development,” fishing and shell-fishing was exemplified with the region’s stand.

“For Galicia, it has turned out positive in that terms like sustainability, a term that the Xunta would like to leverage has become incorporated to the fair’s language”, Quintana contended. (FIS).-