The abundant seafood products displayed at the China International Aquatic Products Expo held in Zhanjiang from June 18 to 20 attract many buyers and wholesalers. [Photo by Zhang Fengfeng/gdzjdaily.com.cn] 

Exemplary Zhanjiang aquatic enterprises made high profile appearances at the three-day 2019 China International Aquatic Products Expo & China Seafood Purchasing Fair by displaying fresh innovative products and advanced industry chains.

At the major international gathering held at Zhanjiang Olympics Sports Center from June 18 to 20, local exhibitors, including Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatics Products Co Ltd, put their seafood and marine products on show, interacting with more than 4,000 professional buyers and wholesalers from home and abroad.

Below is a look at the experiences of three leading Zhanjiang exhibitors at the event. It will provide an insight into the strong and dynamic aquaculture industry of the coastal city in south China's Guangdong province.

Evergreen: Extending industry chain a definite goal

Guangdong Evergreen Conglomerate Co Ltd's exhibition booth was crowded with potential buyers who were interested in its various fish and shrimp products, including blackfish, sea bass, balsa fish, golden carp, golden-eye carp, and South American white shrimp.

Also on display were raw material products, products specially supplied for supermarkets, food products, and standardized products. Participants also gave their thumbs up to the more than 40 sumptuous dishes that were freshly cooked using the company's standardized products favored by customers in the Chinese mainland market.

Founded in 1998, Guangdong Evergreen Conglomerate is a large-scale private enterprise group focusing on the businesses of farming, aquatic product processing, and real estate development. It also participates in the financial industry and port operations as well.

According to Chen Dan, chairperson of Guangdong Evergreen Conglomerate, the silver carp fillet and steak, as well as other high-quality products produced by the company to cater to high-end consumers are quite popular. They are available at the fresh food e-commerce experience store Hemaxiansheng or Hema Fresh of Alibaba Group.

Chen said that in the past, Zhanjiang only had the technology for primary processing of freshwater and marine products, which wasted resources, making the fragile industry suffer from low profits. However, the city is now shifting focus to deep processing, hoping to make products with higher added value through industrial transformation and upgrading. According to statistics, from January to April of this year, the output value of aquatic food processing in Zhanjiang climbed nearly 40 percent.

Under this context, Evergreen developed a smart fishery management platform, in which a complete food safety control system has been formed. It supervises every link of the industry chain from egg hatching to feeding, micro-ecological preparations, processing, and cold chain logistics. The management makes it easier for customers to trace the source of the products. The company also supports order-based production in accordance to the needs of catering enterprises.

Guolian: Shift from fisheries to smart manufacturing foreseeable

Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatics Products Co Ltd attracted great attention to its best-selling products related to slippery shrimp, crayfish, crystal shrimp dumplings, sea bass, as well as steamed scallops with vermicelli with garlic.

Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatics Products has been in operation since 2001, and is a leader in shrimp production and export. Its success has been spurred by consistently adapting itself to a changing world market and constant improvements on its processing technologies.

The giant company has developed the shrimp industry as its core business while expanding its catalog of seafood products, as well as providing comprehensive solutions for its corporate customers.

According to a manager of the company, construction of the Guolian Marine Food Smart Industrial Park is about to be completed. In addition, two crayfish processing factories have been put into operation in Jianli county in Wuhan, Hubei province and Yiyang, Hunan province respectively. Construction of a new factory is also in full swing. The Guolian Aquatic & Marine Food Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park project is also accelerating at Wuchuan Huayu Industrial Transfer Industrial Park, moving towards becoming a healthy marine food production demonstration base guided with Industry 4.0 concepts. The source of the food products will be traceable, while real-time monitoring of procurement, processing, and inventory will be realized, reaching an advanced technology level for healthy marine food production.

Rainbow: Supplying best shrimps is key principle

Guangdong Rainbow Aquatic Development Co Ltd also attracted many visitors as they were offering many free samples of shrimp balls, shrimp meat, and butterfly cut shrimp for attendees to enjoy.

The modern aquatic product processing trade enterprise is a key leading enterprise of agricultural industrialization in Guangdong province, integrating aquaculture, research and development, fine processing, export sales, as well as domestic trade. Since the company went operational officially in June 2006, its trade volume has increased year by year. In 2017, the processing volume of aquatic products was 5,173 tons and the sales volume was 4,143 tons, worth 234 million yuan ($34 million). Last year, the processing volume increased to 5,331 tons, while the sales volume hit 4,713 tons with the total value of 256 million yuan.

After years of continuous development, the company's shrimp products with high added value have gained a strong foothold in both domestic and international markets. They are mainly exported to Japan, Southeast Asia, as well as other countries and regions. They are also popular in major domestic cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.