Change will come

Aquarama 2016, the 15th International Exhibition for Aquarium Supplies and Ornamental Fish, will take place at Guangzhou Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex on 22-25 September 2016. With more than 300 aquarium exhibitors expected, the event will cover a much larger show floor than previous editions, with top-level seminars, numerous on-site activities, farm and factory visits and of course fish, shrimp and aquascaping competitions.
There's no doubt that profound changes are taking place in the aquarium industry and its offshoot the ornamental fish industry. In Asia for instance, distribution networks are starting to take shape in most countries, making the concept of regional distributors pointless. While this will hopefully reduce the number of intermediaries, increase margins and improve product management, it definitely brings brands and exporters to the point where they need to do more than tick boxes.
People want to understand better what they are doing and be given more responsibility. Everywhere, and especially in developing markets (including those with a long history of fish keeping as a hobby), the need for training and active support from industry players has never been so strong.
It is with this problem in mind that Aquarama is moving to Guangzhou, at the heart of the aquarium accessories industry and strong base of aquarium hobbyists, and will cover additional steps of the supply chain and put much greater emphasis on education.

Designed to be not only an exhibition but a comprehensive business accelerator ecosystem, Aquarama will offer conferences, business talks, trade matchmaking and educational programmes. The organisers will commit to highlighting solutions for tomorrow's challenges: online to offline strategy workshops, a forum on the evolution of the trade at global, regional and domestic level and two-way trade.Along with a clear focus on ornamental fish and the aquarium supplies trade, specific exhibition sections for upstream suppliers, public aquariums, quarantine and transport solutions will be combined with an ambitious hosted buyer programme to bring the right audience to the show.