Aquatic at VIV Asia 2017: full of attractions for aquaculture buyers

Aquaculture will receive special treatment at the next edition of international Feed to Food exhibition VIV Asia. The Special Event called Aquatic features a pre-show conference, several show-time seminars and a pavilion of exhibitors at VIV Asia whose primary purpose is to reach out with products or services for the aquaculture sector.

Aquatic will offer aquaculture buyers much to network, see and learn from health products and ingredients to solutions for aqua feed manufacturing in displays of feed processing equipment. VIV Asia 2017 comes to the BITEC exhibition centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on 15-17 March as the heart of a week-long series of business opportunities, networking and knowledge updates for professionals working in Asia’s animal protein industries.

Asian aquaculture: growing business

Asia leads the way in producing aquatic animal proteins and aquaculture therefore deserves a central place in the VIV Asia platform. Show manager Zhenja Antochin: “Asian aquaculture is a growing business and our development and investment in it has kept track with that growth at each edition of the show since it was first included in 2009. At the 2017 edition we are responding to our surveys and feedback showing that aquaculture is highly relevant to VIV Asia’s audience. In 2015 we received about 38,500 visitors and over 19% of them reported an interest in the production of fish or shrimp. We expect that people who are involved in the business will form an even higher proportion of the attendance in 2017, after some specific promotion to them in recent months.”

Three-part menu of attractions

“Aquatic features a three-part menu of strong attractions for visitors with a business interest in aquaculture,” says Roel Schoenmaker, who is co-ordinating the Aquatic activities on behalf of VIV worldwide. “As well as a pre-show conference and several show-time seminars, Aquatic features its own pavilion of exhibitors. “The Aquatic Pavilion is going to be fully integrated as a central feature in the main hall of the show. It will be located within the section highlighting animal health and feed ingredients and additives. The location also puts the pavilion close to other exhibiting companies that have feed and health products for aquaculture as part of their wider product range.”

Pre-show conference

The city-centre Novotel hotel on Bangkok’s Sukhumvit road provides the venue for the pre-show Aquatic Conference set for Tuesday 14 March. This conference runs from 9:00 until 17:00, including lunch, and has a non-commercial management theme discussing issues of biosecurity, feed and recirculation in relation to health control at aquaculture sites. The conference – in English and Thai languages – is being presented by VIV and International Aquafeed Magazine with Asian aquaculture talent development company Progressus. Thailand’s governmental Department of Fisheries and the World Aquaculture Society are official partners of the meeting.

As an additional feature of Aquatic, a meeting room at the BITEC showground has been set aside for Wednesday 15 March so that aquaculture-related exhibitors have an opportunity to organise their 1 hour commercial seminars close to the exhibition floor during the course of the show day.

Aquatic Pavilion

Fifteen companies have reserved their places to exhibit in the Aquatic Pavilion: Blue Aqua, Empyreal, Kasipantarut, Genereach, Aliphos, Changsha Xian Sha Yuan, Sino-shark, Qingdao Xinhaiyayuan, Toan Thang, Soleval, APC, Proteus, Marine Leader, Aquaculture Asia Pacific and International Aquafeed. The international line-up of companies – all fully dedicated to aquaculture -, reveals an emphasis on feed and health supplies for the industrial production of fish and shrimp. “For aquaculture at the show, it brings a beautiful synergy with the whole atmosphere of the venue and the energy there,” says show manager Zhenja Antochin.

Sector guide

Mr. Antochin points out that, outside the Aquatic Pavilion, many other international suppliers to aquaculture will be found elsewhere in the exhibition because they have products for land-based livestock as well as aquatic. “With about 1,000 exhibitors in total at VIV Asia this time,” he says, “we realised we needed to help our aquaculture visitors find the supply companies of interest to them. Therefore, in addition to the Show Guide that every visitor receives on arrival, we have created a practical English-language booklet in a distinctive sea-blue colour and with the Aquatic logo, to highlight where the suppliers are located.” The booklet will have a different version of the show’s floor plan, in the sense that this one picks out especially the aquaculture exhibitors. It will also list the seminars that are part of Aquatic.