March 20, 2017 — Xi Du didn’t know anything about New Bedford until last year.
A native of central China, Du works as a customer relationship specialist at Greenco International, a U.S. based exporter of agriculture to Asia.
The company began exporting in 2012, but purchased its first load of scallops last year from New Bedford.
“It’s really interesting. Before I took part in this group I had no idea. What’s New Bedford,” Du said. “But then I looked at the schedule. ‘What a moment, you’re going to bring me here?’ It’s so fantastic. It’s wonderful.”
Du joined 25 others on a tour, which included seafood buyers from around the world, through New Bedford’s port on Friday.
Each buyer is in Boston for the weekend as part of the North American Seafood Expo scheduled for March 19-21 at the Boston Convention Center.
Other buyers from China accompanied Du as well as some from Thailand, France and Poland to name a few.