Zhanjiang will host the 2016 China International Aquatic Products Exposition at its international convention and exhibition center from June 18 to 20.

Jointly organized by the China Aquatic Production Chamber of Commerce under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and Zhanjiang Aquatic Products Import and Export Association, the three-day event is expected to attract more than 200 exhibitors and 3,000 professional buyers from 30 countries and regions, including the European Union, the United States, Ecuador, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Iran in addition to almost all the regions of China including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

This year's show will cover an exhibition area of more than 20,000 square meters with over 500 booths, about one-third of which will be earmarked for exhibitors from ASEAN member countries.

"The success of the previous two sessions has built up confidence of the aquatic firms in ASEAN countries and has made our expo increasingly popular among them," said Cen Jian, secretary-general of the Zhanjiang Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association, which manages the trade fair.

"We will launch a special pavilion for them for the first time."

According to Cen, the expo will showcase the entire array of products, technological solutions and equipment of the aquatic industrial chain. Exhibits will include frozen aquatic products, aquatic seedlings, technologies and equipment for aquaculture, aquatic processing and preservation, as well as environmental protection and sterilization, aquatic fodder and medicines, fodder-making machines, packaging materials, equipment and techniques and cold chain logistics.

Cen said a series of seminars would be organized for technological exchanges and on-site procurement and ceremonies would be launched for forging economic and trade ties.

Trips will also be organized to local firms for closer trade partnerships.

Zhang Quanguo, president of an aquatic product trading firm in Southwest China's Sichuan province, said the expo has become a home for businesspeople in the industry.

"Zhanjiang enjoys the leading position in China's aquatic industry. The expo makes the latest information, new opportunities, new products and new technological solutions readily available for all," Zhang said.

"Both organizers and industrial insiders pin high hopes on the trade show - we are managing to turn it into a leading aquatic expo and build a platform for foreign aquatic products to enter the Chinese market, for the Chinese aquatic industry to further tap the global market, and for the world to share Chinese aquatic products and technologies," said Chen Si, chairman of the Zhanjiang Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance.

Chen said the organizers expect this year's exhibition to yield transactions in excess of 20 billion yuan ($3.05 billion).

The event raked in deals worth 18 billion yuan last year and 15 billion yuan the previous year, Chen said.

The annual event, initiated in 2014, has grown into the most influential aquatic trade fair in South China, and the second-largest in the country. It ranks fourth worldwide after events in Brussels, Belgium, and Boston in the United States, and others in Qingdao and Dalian in northern China.

zhanlisheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/30/2016 page6)