10
• Carrageenan seaweed farming is on a much smaller scale in the other three case-study countries. According to FAO statistics, the production of cultivated
carrageenan seaweed in 2010 was 8 000 wet tonnes in Solomon Islands and 4 240 wet tonnes in India, while the production in Mexico is not reported in the
FAO statistics.
• The six case-study countries accounted for about 95 percent of world cultivation of carrageenan seaweed in 2010. Other major cultivating countries include
Malaysia 3.7 percent of world production in 2010 and China 1.1 percent. The performance of carrageenan seaweed farming is constrained by a number of
environmental factors: • Seasonality, which is one of the main causes of production fluctuations, has
been a common issue for Indonesia and the Philippines. Experience of seaweed farmers in Indonesia indicated that monthly harvest could be 2.8 times of the
average in the best season but only 42 percent in the worst season. Shifting cultivating sites and changing cultivars have been approaches used by farmers
to accommodate seasonality, but most farmers reported that seasonal effects on growth were a major handicap Neish, 2013. In another study that surveyed two
hundred seaweed farmers in Indonesia Zamroni and Yamao, 2011, changes in the monsoon seasons were ranked as the most critical challenge.
• Disease is another major problem, which not only discourages farmers but also contributes to supply uncertainty for processors. “Ice-ice” disease is a common
disease that affects carrageenan seaweed farming worldwide. Primarily because of perennial “ice-ice” outbreaks, cottonii cultivation in Zanzibar the United
Republic of Tanzania declined from over 1 000 tonnes in 2001 to almost zero in 2008 Msuya, 2013. Indonesia and the Philippines have also suffered from “ice-
ice” disease Neish, 2013; Hurtado, 2013.
• Inclement weather is a great risk to seaweed farming. Indeed, the experimental carrageenan seaweed farming project on which the Mexico case study is based
had to be terminated prematurely after the experimental farms were destroyed by a hurricane Robledo, Gasca-Leyva and Fraga, 2013. In the Philippines,
typhoons have damaged seaweed farms several times in the last three decades, and seasonal weather patterns can prevent production throughout the year. Crop
insurance is available in the Philippines; and farmers are encouraged to purchase insurance even though it adds to their costs Hurtado, 2013. In India, insurance
Year 2000 Year 2010
Top 5 producers Quantity
thousand wet tonnes
Share Top 5 producers
Quantity thousand wet
tonnes Share
World 944
100.0 World
5 623 100.0
Philippines 679
71.9 Indonesia
3 399 60.5
Indonesia 197
20.9 Philippines
1 795 31.9
United Republic of Tanzania
1
51 5.4
Malaysia 208
3.7 Kiribati
11 1.2
United Republic of Tanzania
1
132 2.3
Fiji 5
0.6 China
64 1.1
Top 5 total 943
99.9 Top 5 total
5 599 99.6
TABLE 1
Major carrageenan seaweed farming countries, 2000 vs 2010
Note: Carrageenan seaweeds under cultivation include Kappaphycus and Eucheuma seaweeds.
1
Including Zanzibar. Source: FAO FishStat.
on infrastructure and cultivar is sometimes part of a contract farming scheme Krishnan and Narayanakumar, 2013. However, crop insurance is not readily
available in Indonesia Neish, 2013. Some relief from weather damage may be obtained from government. For example, providing seaweed farmers with floating
rafts was part of India’s effort to rehabilitate tsunami-affected areas Krishnan and Narayanakumar, 2013.
• Other environmental factors negatively affecting the performance of seaweed farming include grazing by fish or other organisms which is a common problem
identified in all six case studies and rising sea temperatures, which could slow seaweed growth Hurtado, 2013; Kronen, 2013.
Seaweed farming also faces competition from other sectors. For example, seaweed production in Solomon Islands declined in 2007 after the opening of the more-lucrative
sea cucumber fishery Kronen, 2013. In the United Republic of Tanzania, seaweed farming sites in some areas may become unavailable because of urban development
Msuya, 2013.
Notwithstanding various constraining factors, carrageenan seaweed farming should tend to continue expanding as long as the demand for carrageenan seaweeds keeps
growing. There are still many areas yet to be exploited, even in Indonesia where seaweed farming has expanded substantially Neish, 2013. It has been estimated that
India has the potential to produce one million tonnes of dried seaweed Krishnan and Narayanakumar, 2013.
2.2 Trade
International trade in carrageenan products The demand for carrageenan seaweeds is a derived demand influenced primarily by the
market for carrageenan products. Refined or semi-refined carrageenan has been widely used in dairy, meat, pet food, water gels and other products McHugh, 2003; Neish,
2008a; Bixler and Porse, 2011. Europe and Northern America mainly the United States of America have been the main international markets for carrageenan. As more
processed food is consumed by growing, wealthier and more urbanized populations, the carrageenan market has expanded in developing regions. The price of carrageenan in the
international market was generally stable in the first half of the 2000s but has increased rapidly since the mid-2000s and become more volatile. This development pattern can
be exemplified by the status and trend of carrageenan exports from the Philippines Figure 4. The Philippines is a major carrageenan producing and exporting country. The
other five case-study countries have a much smaller carrageenan processing capacity.
International trade in carrageenan seaweeds Most carrageenan seaweeds in international trade come from the three major
carrageenan seaweed farming countries i.e. Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Chile also exports carrageenan-containing, cold-water species
from wild collection Bixler and Porse, 2011.
Specific data on the international trade of cultivated carrageenan seaweeds are not readily available. In UN COMTRADE data set, the commodity HS121220 seaweeds
and other algae includes all types of seaweeds red, brown and others from different sources wild and farmed and in different forms dry and fresh. However, most of
seaweed production in Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania comes from aquaculture, and their total carrageenan seaweed farming production
accounts for more than 90 percent of the world total Table 1. Therefore, the status and trend of seaweed exports from these three countries Figure 5 can be used to reflect the
status and trends of international markets for cultivated carrageenan seaweeds. Some stylized facts are summarized as follows:
12
• As indicated by the total seaweed export of the three countries, the international market for cultivated carrageenan seaweed doubled from about 100 000 tonnes
in 2005 to 200 000 tonnes in 2011. Exports to China accounted for most of the expansion; its share in total exports increased from 27 percent in 2000 to 58 percent
in 2011. Europe used to be the largest international market for carrageenan seaweed, but its share in the total seaweed exports of the three countries declined
from 49 percent in 2010 to 10 percent in 2011.
• Indonesia is the largest carrageenan seaweed exporting country. Its seaweed exports have increased almost eightfold in terms of volume since 2000, reaching almost
160 000 tonnes in 2011. Asian markets accounted for 95 percent of the expansion; China alone accounting for 72 percent. In 2011, 68 percent of Indonesia’s seaweed
export in terms of volume went to China including China, Hong Kong SAR and China, Macao SAR, 22 percent to other Asian countries, 4.5 percent to
Latin America and the Caribbean, 4.1 percent to Europe, 1.5 percent to Northern America, 0.3 percent to Oceania, and 0.3 percent to Africa. The top ten markets
for seaweed exports from Indonesia in 2011 are summarized in Table 2.
• The Philippines was the largest carrageenan exporting country in 2000. However, its seaweed exports declined from almost 50 000 tonnes in 2000 to about
11 000 tonnes in 2009. Its exports rebounded to 27 000 tonnes in 2011. While 54 percent of the Philippines’ seaweed exports in terms of volume went to
Europe in 2000, it was distributed more evenly in 2011: China 32 percent, other Asian countries 15 percent, Europe 24 percent, Northern America 24 percent,
Latin America 2.6 percent and Oceania 1.2 percent. The top ten markets for seaweed exports from the Philippines in 2011 are summarized in Table 2.
• The seaweed exports of the United Republic of Tanzania increased from 5 000 tonnes in 2000 to about 13 000 tonnes in 2002 and then declined to
7 000 tonnes in 2006. However, they rebounded to almost 15 000 tonnes in 2011. Europe and Northern America remained the two major international markets for
seaweed exports from the United Republic of Tanzania about 60 and 20 percent of the total, respectively, in 2011. The share of Asia increased from nil in 2000
to almost 30 percent in 2011. The top ten markets for seaweed exports from the United Republic of Tanzania in 2011 are summarized in Table 2.
FIGURE 4
Export volume and price of carrageenan products from the Philippines
Note: For the Philippines, the export of HS130239 comprises mainly carrageenan products. Price calculated from value and quantity. Source: UN COMTRADE; commodity HS130239 mucilages and thickeners nes.
2 5
7 10
12 15
17 20
22 25
2 6
4 8
10 Africa
Oceania Latin America and Caribbean
Asia Northern America
Europe
Average export price f.o.b., USDkg
2011 2010
2009 2008
2007 2006
2005 2004
2003 2002
2001 2000
Thousand tonnes USDKg
INDONESIA
UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
• The trends in seaweed export prices for the period 2000–2011 Figure 5 are similar to that of carrageenan Figure 4. Generally speaking, seaweed exports
from the Philippines were more expensive than those from Indonesia. The prices of seaweed exports from the United Republic of Tanzania were much lower than
those of Indonesia and the Philippines because of the dominance of the cheaper spinosum in its exports. A more detailed discussion on seaweed prices is set out
below.
50 100
150
0.4 0.8
1.2 1.6
2.0
2011 2010
2009 2008
2007 2006
2005 2004
2003 2002
2001 2000
USDKg Thousand tonnes
150 150
200
USDKg Thousand tonnes
3.0 6.0
9 12
15
0.1 0.2
0.3 0.4
0.5
2011 2010
2009 2008
2007 2006
2005 2004
2003 2002
2001 2000
FIGURE 5
Seaweed export volume and price of major carrageenan seaweed farming countries
Notes: Carrageenan seaweeds account for most seaweed and algae production and export in Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Price calculated from value and quantity.
Source: UN COMTRADE; commodity HS121220 seaweeds and other algae.
THREE COUNTRIES, TOTAL
PHILIPPINES
50 100
150 200
250
0.8 0.4
1.2 1.6
2.0
2011 2010
2009 2008
2007 2006
2005 2004
2003 2002
2001 2000
Thousand tonnes USDKg
10 20
30 40
50
1.0 0.5
1.5 2.0
2.5
2011 2010
2009 2008
2007 2006
2005 2004
2003 2002
2001 2000
USDKg Thousand tonnes
Africa Oceania
Latin America and Caribbean Northern America
Europe Asia excluding China
China including China, Hong Kong SAR and China, Macao SAR Average export price f.o.b., USDkg
14
2.3 Price
