Seafood Expo Global, the world's largest seafood trade show, once again brought together all stakeholders of the global fishing and aquaculture industry in Barcelona, Spain.
The exhibition, which showcased a wide range of fresh, frozen and processed seafood as well as aquaculture, processing technologies, logistics and equipment solutions, brought together all industry stakeholders, from producers, exporters and importers to retailers and restaurant chains.
Turkish seafood exporters nationwide participated in the Seafood Expo Global, which was held for the 32nd time this year and was attended by more than 2,000 companies from 87 countries.
While 17 companies took part in the national participation organized by the Istanbul Fishery and Animal Products Exporters Association (İSHİB) for the 20th time, 8 Turkish companies participated in the fair individually. Some Turkish companies that produce machines and equipment for this sector also took part in the fair.
Turkish seafood products were introduced
Companies participating in Seafood Expo Global contacted visitors from all over the world, promoted Turkish seafood products and took advantage of cooperation opportunities by participating in B2B meetings.
The tasting events held at Türkiye Pavilion, accompanied by special Turkish seafood menus from famous chefs, attracted great attention from participants. The 300 kilogram tuna from Turkey and the largest fish at the fair also caught the attention of visitors.
Officials said tens of thousands of industry professionals attended the fair this year and said there was great interest in Turkish companies.
Visitors from Turkish companies participating in the fair included Türkiye Consul General in Barcelona Ayşe Zeybek and Barcelona Commercial Attaché Nurdan Çamlıbel Aydın.
“Our exports of aquatic products exceeded $2.2 billion last year”
In his statement to journalists at the fair, ISHIB Vice President Ogulcan Kemal Sagun said that fish consumption in Turkey is still not at the desired level and the annual average is 7.5 to 8 kilograms, while this figure is 20 kilograms in Greece, 30 kilograms in Spain and 60 kilograms in Japan.
Explaining that Türkiye's consumption of aquatic products is below the world and European average, Sagun explained that due to weak demand in the domestic market, the sector turned to export and therefore achieved success.
Noting that Türkiye's aquatic product exports exceeded $2.2 billion in 2025, an increase of 11 percent year-on-year, Sagun continued with his words as follows:
“85 percent of these were sea bass, sea bream, trout and tuna. We also include Turkish salmon as trout. We exported sea bass worth $666 million, sea bream worth $584 million, Turkish salmon worth $520 million, trout worth $122 million and tuna worth $119 million. The countries to which we export the most are Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States $466 million to Russia.” “We exported $281 million to Italy, $229 million to the Netherlands, $211 million to Greece, $196 million to the United Kingdom, $113 million to Japan and $95 million to the United States.”
“We fish off the coast of Africa”
Okulcan Kemal Sagun stated that they are second in Europe in aquaculture exports after Norway and, according to their estimates, are in the top 10 in the world, saying: “We are good at fishing. Our hunting fleet hunts on the coasts of African countries. We hunt in countries from Mauritania to Oman, from Senegal to Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Currently we have more than 4,500 licensed fishing vessels.” he said.
Explaining that Türkiye has made a leap in aquaculture fishing and exports in the last 10 years, Sagun said: “The Turkish fleet is currently very active, especially on the African coast. In Somalia, the necessary permits have been shifted from hunting to aquaculture.” he said.
“Seafood Expo Global 2026 was extremely productive”
ISHIB Vice President Sagun stated that Turkish exporters are waiting to participate in Seafood Expo Global every year and continued his words as follows:
“Seafood Expo Global 2026 was extremely productive for us. With the increase in the number of participants next year, we want to continue strongly the trade fair, which we have participated in for the 20th time. The Turkish fish tasting events at our stand attracted a lot of attention. We are determined to make this success sustainable and take it further every year.”
Sagun explained that in addition to this event, the Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in Boston, USA, and the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo in China are among the most important trade fairs in the industry.
The target for seafood exports is $2.5 billion
Ogulcan Kemal Sagun said that Turkey's seafood production has reached the level of 1 million tons and 70 percent of it is exported.
Sagun explained that they have been organizing nationwide participation in trade fairs in Spain and the USA for some time, and this year they will be participating in the trade fair in China nationwide for the first time.
Stating that the obstacles they face in exporting aquatic products to China will be eliminated from December 2025, Sagun made the following assessments:
“The Chinese market has been open since December. Products such as salmon and tuna are currently being exported to this country. China is a different world when it comes to aquatic products. We have currently chosen China as our first target country and the opening of the Chinese market shows that we can reach this number 110 “We export to the country.”
Recalling that the EU had imposed an embargo on Russia after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Sagun said: “We were producing trout then. When Russia got an embargo from Europe and couldn't import salmon. So,” he said.
Sinan Kızıltan, Chairman of the Industry Board of the Turkish Aquaculture and Animal Products Exporters Association, and Ufuk Atakan Demir, President of the Aegean Aquaculture and Animal Products Exporters Association were also present at the fair.
Bir yanıt yazın