This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 4 2026.
Vigo will once again be the epicentre of the frozen seafood sector during the Conxemar International Trade Fair, taking place on 6-8 October. The now-traditional Conxemar FAO MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food) Congress will be held on Monday, 5 October.
Under the slogan “Where Blue Business Happens,” the Spanish Association of Wholesalers, Importers, Processors, and Exporters of Fishery and Aquaculture Products, Conxemar, is finalising details for the 27th edition of the Conxemar International Trade Fair for frozen seafood, among the globally most important events for the sector, to be held from 6-8 October.
As in previous years, the fair will bring together some of the most relevant international companies, institutions, and buyers in the industry in Vigo, solidifying its position as one of the main meeting and business hubs for frozen seafood products. The 2026 edition significantly strengthens its global reach with the addition of new pavilions and organisations from countries such as Indonesia, Tunisia, Croatia, India, Venezuela, and Angola, as well as other national and European entities. The fair will once again focus on generating business through key initiatives such as the Guest Buyers Program, which in 2025 facilitated more than 650 business meetings, and the online bilateral meetings organised within the framework of the Enterprise Europe Network, in collaboration with the Confederation of Business Owners of Galicia and the Galician Innovation Agency. These tools, which have already proven their effectiveness in previous editions, will expand opportunities for networking between companies and international buyers, both during the fair and in the weeks leading up to and following it.
AI’s impact, the global trade balance, and consumption habits to be analysed at conference
Furthermore, the Conxemar FAO MAPA Congress on 5 October will serve as a prelude to the trade fair, bringing together experts, institutional representatives, and industry professionals to analyse the main challenges and trends that will shape the evolution of the fishing and frozen sectors of the seafood industry. This year’s programme, framed under the theme “Smart Blue Leadership,” will focus on efficiency, intelligence, and global industry standards. It will feature four roundtables that will analyse, from a cross-cutting perspective, some of the key drivers of transformation in the sector: from the balance of international trade and the application of artificial intelligence in traceability, to changes in consumption habits and the products that define them. Dr. María Neira, former Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), will provide a complementary perspective on her experience at the department. For those interested in attending, complete information on topics and speakers, as well as registration forms for both the fair and the congress, are available on the association’s website, www.conxemar.com.
