Thai products made a big impression at the recent European Seafood Exposition 2007 at the Brussels Exhibition Centre.

Quality assurance seemed to be the theme for the Thai seafood industry, projecting Thailand's confidence in the high quality of its products, which undergo rigorous inspection before arriving in European and world markets.

With over 1,600 exhibitors from more than 77 countries, the European exhibition is the biggest seafood event in Europe and, probably, the world.

Thailand's Department of Export Promotion, in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries, regularly invites exporters to the event.

Fifteen Thai firms showcased products ranging from raw seafood to semi-finished and processed products in the same pavilion, which was four times larger than the previous year's, for the April 24-26 exhibition.

Information on safety controls and standards, including Q-Mark certification and traceability programmes, was also provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Quality assurance was again highlighted during a networking event, Thai Exotic Night, where the pilot TraceShrimp project was demonstrated.

The project allows importers to trace the shrimp production chain from farms to distribution via the Internet. The transparency of the system illustrates the confidence of authorities that Thai products are up to European and other international standards.

European importers confirmed that Thailand's continual efforts in striving for top quality were paying off.

A German importer said: "I prefer buying Thai seafood. I can rest assured of its quality, thanks to the strict inspection of competent authorities."

A Dutch importer affirmed that apart from being confident about quality he was more comfortable in doing business with Thai people.

"They are reliable, credible and highly professional," he said.

Professor Patrick Sorgeloos, the dean of bioscience engineering at Belgium's University of Ghent, said he was very much impressed with the standard of Thai seafood, making it possible for the country to promote its products in the international markets with pride.

Exhibition organiser Mary Larkin pointed out that "sustainability, convenience and healthiness" were the current trends in the European seafood market.

A number of Thai exporters have already invested in research and development aimed at satisfying the three trends.

One is Surerath Farms, the first organic shrimp farm in Thailand and a supplier of Austrian company Yuu'n Mee Fine Foods Vertriebs, one of the finalists in the prestigious Seafood Prix d'Elite awards.

Paveena Sutthisripok

The Nation