Release May 2007

TILAPIA 2007 KUALA LUMPUR
shaping up as The Global Tilapia Event

With about three months to go, preparations for the TILAPIA 2007 KUALA LUMPUR technical and trade conference and exhibition are coming along just fine. Even with a number of other industry events preceding it, interest in TILAPIA 2007 remains strong, undoubtedly a reflection of the growing importance of the fish in the past several years as an aquaculture species.

The conference programme is shaping up well, with some prominent industry figures confirming their participation as speakers. In the opening session, speakers from FAO will discuss world supply and outlook for tilapia, and give a global update on tilapia farming. Director General of NACA, Sena de Silva, will give a thought-provoking talk on “Tilapia aquaculture in Asia – has it impacted the biodiversity?”. The second session will look at the tilapia production situation in various parts of the world. Rafael Guerrero of the Philippines will cover tilapia production in Southeast Asia, while Madan Dey of the WorldFish Center will cover the rest of Asia. Izzat Feidi, formerly of the FAO, will discuss tilapia culture and production in the Middle East while Erik Hempel, team leader of INFOSA will discuss the situation in the original home of tilapia, Africa. Tilapia production in the Americas will also be discussed. 

The third session will review latest developments in various markets and marketing initiatives. Sherry Frey, Vice President of Perishables Group, USA will highlight the growing role of multinational retail chains and discount stores in retail marketing. Frank Chiang will relate first hand Taiwan’s experience in branding its tilapia in the commodity market while Izzat Feidi will return to speak on demand trends and outlook for tilapia in the Middle East, which is increasingly being seen as a growing market for seafood, especially halal seafood products. A speaker from CAPPMA (China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association) will discuss developments in China’s tilapia industry, the largest in the world. A number of other speakers from industry and regional organizations, including INFOFISH, will speak on the latest market situation in the USA, Europe, Japan and Asia. The growing niche market for organic tilapia will also be covered. Other speakers will look at various new developments in markets, such as the increasing popularity of value added products, live marketing, and the use of eco-labeling as a marketing tool.

Session IV, on technological developments, will feature Norbert Sporns, CEO of tilapia giant HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, who will discuss his company’s experience in developing value-added tilapia products. Morten Hoyum, CEO of GenoMar has an interesting paper on genetic verification of seafood as a tool to address food safety. Another genetics-based paper is that of Raul Ponzoni of the WorldFish Center, who will relate the genetic improvements achieved in the GIFT tilapia. Sustainable aquaculture is the buzzword of the day and George Chamberlain, President of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) will discuss the GAA initiative for developing sustainable tilapia culture standards. Lake Harvest Aquaculture isone of the oldest industrial tilapia farming and processing operations in Africa and Patrick Blow, its General Manager, will speak about the company’s experiences. Large-scale farming of the tilapia – this time in Asia – will be covered by Norbert Sporns of HQ. Intensive tilapia culture in concrete tanks will be discussed by Yong Kim Thai based on the experience of his company, PKPS Farm Mart, in Malaysia. The subject of organic tilapia farming will be taken up by Markus Stern of the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO). Other topics which will be covered in this session are tilapia handling and processing, carbon monoxide treated tilapia, and cold water tilapia farming.

More speakers are expected to confirm their participation in the next few weeks, thus adding to the impressive programme. Interest in the accompanying trade exhibition is also brisk with prospective exhibitors checking out the packages being offered. There is also much interest in the post conference tour of tilapia farms, from as far as India and Africa. With the keen interest and support of the Ministry (Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, has agreed to declare the event open) and key relevant fisheries and agro-marketing organizations in Malaysia, TILAPIA 2007 KUALA LUMPUR looks set to rival its predecessor, TILAPIA 2001, as The Global Event of the Tilapia Industry.

For more information, contact:

INFOFISH-TILAPIA 2007 KUALA LUMPUR

P O Box 10899, 50728 Kuala Lumpur. 1st Floor Wisma PKNS, Jalan Raja Laut, 50350, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (603) 26914466 / 26914614 / 26914794; Fax: (603) 26916804
E-mail: infish@tm.net.my or infish@po.jaring.my