Four Irish seafood companies have launched Jade Ireland Seafood Limited, a new joint venture company with an office based in Shanghai, which will seek to promote Irish seafood in the Chinese market.
The venture is the creation of McBride Fishing, Carr Shellfish, Sofrimar and Shellfish de La Mer. The company launched its new brand Ocean Jade last week at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo, one of China’s largest seafood trade shows.
A total of twelve Irish seafood companies exhibited on the ‘Ireland’ stand, which was managed and coordinated by Bord Bia.
The companies involved in the new venture boast collective revenues of €45 million and already have established clients in France, the UK, Spain, Italy and Korea.
The development of the venture was aided by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
“Irish seafood enjoys an excellent reputation internationally and with exports to China up 80% so far this year compared to last year, we have a real opportunity to establish a presence in this growing and profitable market," said Donal Buckley, BIM’s business development and innovation manager. "However, in order to do so, we need to build scale and we are pleased to have assisted four international joint ventures this year including Jade Ireland to ensure we can access and serve key markets effectively."
