For another year, Muutech is attending Conxemar with the aim of bringing the latest developments in monitoring solutions to the frozen food sector. Of all the editions of the fair, Conxemar 2019 was closed with a record number of visitors, 37,000 people who came to the Ifevi from 108 different countries to enjoy the 749 stands that participated. Despite the fact that this year the fair has been protagonist of the front pages mainly due to the threat of the Sea Food (the first world fair of the sector) disembarkation in Barcelona, 70 companies have been left out of the fairground due to lack of space, a good indicator that Conxemar continues to grow. The need to enlarge Vigo’s exhibition centre has also been one of the most talked matters in the political spectrum of this edition.
What has been evident this year is the development of 4.0 technologies in the sector. At the fair, not only the number of stands focused on the food sector has grown sharply but also the number of technology companies such as Muutech.
Although in recent years the fishing and freezing industry has not stood out for making great technological advances, or at least not at the level of other industries such as the automotive, it seems that the need to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the activity is pushing towards change. The commitment to reduce raw material losses opens up new opportunities for automation and production control. There is also space for innovation in the area of monitoring and digitization, for example in the commitment to extend the species produced through aquaculture to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
Galicia at the forefront of the sector
The fishing sector, undisputed protagonist of Conxemar, is the first primary sector in Galicia. 52 % of fishing employment in Spain and 10 % of fishing employment in the EU are generated in Galicia. 33,000 direct jobs representing 3.2% of the employment in the community. The annual extractive production in Galician accounts for 15% of the EU’s, 187,000 tonnes representing 2.1% of Galicia's GDP.
These data reflects the attractive potential of Galician fishing for the implementation of innovations. Galicia should lead in the advances of the sector and step by step it begins to do so with examples such as the ones we bring you below.
(Oportunidades Industria 4.0 en Galicia, Xunta de Galicia).
Aquaculture of new species
One of the great attractions of the fair this year were Carmiña and Federico, two octopuses that Pereira Group raised in captivity. Quite a milestone, given the difficulty that this type of species presents to survive in aquaculture. Nueva Pescanova is another of the big companies that are investigating against the clock the reproduction cycle of the octopus in captivity. The giant of the sector expects to be able to cultivate octopus for commercial purposes in 2023.