The biggest seafood trade show in North America has been cancelled amid rising coronavirus concerns, dealing a blow to Atlantic Canada’s seafood industry already reeling from declining demand.
The annual Boston exposition connects suppliers and buyers in the seafood industry. It’s a place for face-to-face meetings, handshake deals and hobnobbing over a hockey game.
The decision to call off the three-day event could have a ripple effect on the region's multi-billion-dollar seafood sector, potentially impacting sales in the year ahead.
"It leaves a void in the marketplace,” Stewart Lamont, managing director at Tangier Lobster Co. on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore, said in an interview Thursday.
“The Boston seafood show historically is the kingpin of seafood wholesale engagement the world over,” he said. “It’s a very sophisticated and substantial show.”
Officially called the Seafood Expo North America and Seafood Processing North America, the show helps suppliers of seafood products and processing equipment reach buyers representing an international supply chain from importers and exporters to wholesalers, supermarkets and restaurants.
Earlier this week, organizers said the “evolving situation around COVID-19” prompted the decision to pull the plug on the 40th edition of the event as planned.
“We have determined that postponement at this time is unavoidable,” event organizers said in a statement.
Although organizers said they are “committed to finding a solution to deliver an event in North America” in 2020, industry leaders expressed doubt the show could be rescheduled.
Seafood trade shows are also planned for Belgium next month, and China this fall.
Some still going
But some seafood buyers and suppliers still plan to fly to Boston. Meetings will be held in hotel rooms, offices, restaurants and between periods at the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs game.
In fact, the trade show is often so busy that many meetings are scheduled the weekend before or in the days following the event, said Osborne Burke, president of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.
“The booths can get extremely busy and it’s difficult to meet, so many arrive early and start working in advance,” the general manager of Victoria Co-operative Fisheries in Neils Harbour said.
“There are players in the industry that are still going to Boston to make their commitments,” he added. “If that means we have to go to the customer’s door in Gloucester or New Bedford then we’re going to do that.”
While historic client-supplier relationships are expected to continue as usual, Lamont said shutting down the show will scuttle plans for new business deals.
“Life will go on for the existing relationships,” he said. “Where I see the biggest drawback is that you won’t see the new relationships develop that would typically be part of the Boston show.”
Market sags, perception of local product doesn't
The novel coronavirus has dealt a serious blow to seafood sales over the last several weeks, impacting both prices and demand.
“The coronavirus has had a major impact worldwide,” Lamont said. “The economic loss both in mainland China and now in the rest of the world is significant.”
However, Burke said there has been an uptick in interest for processed lobster.
He said food from Atlantic Canada is recognized as safe in China, and buyers are showing interest in individually-wrapped lobsters and sealed products.
"There could be an opporunity here for value-added products," Burke said. "The consumer in China wants to know that the last time it was handled was at a processing facility in Canada."
