International seafood buyers to tour New Bedford

Seafood buyers from all corners of the world will descend upon New Bedford tomorrow to meet with some of the area's leading seafood companies.

Over 20 seafood buyers, mainly from Europe and Asia, will visit the Whaling City Seafood Auction and four New Bedford seafood companies before attending a luncheon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum featuring New Bedford Mayor Scott W. Lang.

The visiting delegation will also include members of the European seafood press and foreign trade representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The international visitors are in Massachusetts for the 2007 International Boston Seafood Show. Food Export USA, a non-profit export promotion organization, sponsored the visit of the foreign buyers specifically to promote northeastern U.S. seafood exports.

The tour represents the third annual visit of international seafood buyers to the New Bedford area organized by the Massachusetts Export Center, part of the state's Small Business Development Center Network. The Export Center provides a broad range of services to Massachusetts exporters and operates a New Bedford office.

"We are pleased to be working with the Massachusetts Export Center again in 2007 to introduce our visiting delegation of international buyers to the New Bedford seafood community," said Colleen Coyne, Seafood Program Coordinator for Food Export USA. "We appreciate the support and welcome we have received in New Bedford in past years and look forward to another successful visit this year."

Paula Murphy, director of the Massachusetts Export Center, said her group was "delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the New Bedford seafood industry to buyers from throughout the world."

Following the seafood company visits, a luncheon will be held in honor of the visiting delegation at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

The luncheon is organized and sponsored by the International Trade Assistance Center and the City of New Bedford's Office of Economic Development. Other organizations supporting the visit include the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission and the Bristol County Convention & Visitor's Bureau.