August 19, 2016
GAA, Gfresh stand up for China aquaculture
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and Gfresh, an online marketplace for seafood, have agreed to work collectively to promote responsible aquaculture in China.
As part of their memorandum of understanding (MOU), Gfresh will promote on its e-commerce platform products from Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified facilities, encouraging Chinese and international retail and foodservice buyers to source seafood from responsible operations. A section of its e-commerce platform will be dedicated to the BAP third-party certification programme and responsible aquaculture.
In turn, GAA will encourage its network of BAP-certified facilities to capitalise on Gfresh's service, networks and insights.
The agreement involves a number of other cross-promotional efforts, both online and at events such as GAA's annual GOAL conference and the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo.
"We feel this partnership with Gfresh is well-suited for the Chinese market, where food safety is a major concern to customers. The food safety component of the BAP standards really offers Chinese retailers a unique marketing tool they can use to satisfy their customers concerns," said Steve Hart, GAA's vice president of education and outreach.
"This partnership with GAA is an important first step that will give Chinese buyers the ability to identify and source seafood that are certified safe and sustainable," said Anthony Wan, vice president and co-founder of Gfresh.
The MOU will be officially signed at the Global Aquaculture Alliance's GOAL 2016 conference in Guangzhou, China, on Sept. 21.
In its first year, Gfresh's online platform generated more than US$100 million in seafood trade. The company opened four offices and expanded to 10 buyer cities in China (Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu) and abroad (Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea).
The GAA is an international, nonprofit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. Through the development of its BAP certification standards, GAA has become the leading standards-setting organisation for aquaculture seafood.
