Seafood Souq, a digital marketplace for buyers and sellers to trace, trade and finance seafood products, has entered into a partnership with Newsan Food, an Argentina-based seafood supplier. Under the agreement, Seafood Souq will become the sole distributor of Newsan Food products in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
The GCC represents an economic union between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The companies note that the partnership will propel Newsan Food’s expansion in the region and offer both businesses opportunities for growth.
Jimmy Torchut, chief business development officer at Seafood Souq, says: “This collaboration marks a step in our mission to make trade more traceable and offer direct delivery from Argentina to new markets.”
Eyeing new markets
Last year, the UAE Ministry of Economy named Seafood Souq a Future 100 company. The company says the commercial rights will help cement its position in the premium GCC seafood market.
Newsan Food products are on the shelves in over 70 countries under various brands, such as Tradarsa, Valastro, Nietos de Antonio Baldino and Pesantar. The seafood producer has a fleet of 40 fishing vessels, 16 processing plants and three cold storage facilities.
Diego Glikman, CEO of Newsan Food, says the company is eager to work with Seafood Souq due to its strong presence in the region.
The seafood supplier is active in mussel farming, rainbow trout farming and other sustainable aquaculture practices. Their products include Argentinian shrimps, Chilean king crab, swordfish and Andean Salmon Trout.
Seafood consumption is one of the highest worldwide in the UAE and Oman.Alex Bongiorno, COO of Eurotrade, one of the stakeholders, says: “Eurotrade Seafood has represented Newsan Food in France since its inception. We are excited to bring our technical expertise and support to this collaboration and are confident in the success it will bring to the region.”
Seafood consumption
According to UN data, seafood consumption is one of the highest worldwide in the UAE and Oman, with small pelagic fish like sardines and mackerel and large pelagic fish such as tuna and barracuda being the most favored throughout the Middle East.
With food security high on the GCC’s agenda, the region has steadily invested in the local agri-tech sector to boost food production. The UAE, for example, imports about 80% of the food and beverages required to feed its growing population and the millions of tourists visiting annually. Less than ten years ago, it was almost 99%.
Meanwhile, the seafood industry is tapping into aquaculture more than traditional fishing for the first time to meet the world’s rising aquatic food demand, according to the UN’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 report.
By Anvisha Manral