Seaweed ambitions face funding constraints

THE seaweed industry is running up against funding constraints which could foil the government’s plans to develop the sector’s export potential, analysts said.

Danilo V. Fausto, president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc., said the seaweed industry needs an allocation of up to P250 million to significantly boost production.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said that it is seeking to reclaim the Philippines’ spot as the top exporter of seaweed.

“Budgetary support from the government is necessary to expand seaweed farms given that the country has a huge untapped potential for seaweed production,” Mr. Fausto said on Viber.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. has said that the DA has allocated P1 billion for the construction of large tissue culture laboratories, dryers, warehouses, and technical training.

Mr. Fausto said that the Philippines has 102,000 hectares of municipal waters that can be used for seaweed production. Only 17,000 hectares are currently in use, with most farms being located in Mindanao.

He said that seaweed accounts for over 30% of fisheries production, with 72% of seaweed producers located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula.

The DA is hoping to expand seaweed production sites by 85,000 hectares.

Retired Pampanga State Agricultural University professor Roy S. Kempis said in a Viber message that he is not necessarily in favor of expanding production with the aim of reclaiming the top producer spot.

“Rather, the expansion and the investment required must strike a balance between addressing the domestic needs and wants of the commodity and harnessing or capturing a part of the export market,” Mr. Kempis said.

He said that aside from financial support, producers must also receive investment assistance involving seedlings, implements, lines, floaters, and counterweights.

According to the DA, the Philippines accounted for 80% of the world’s seaweed requirement in 1990, while Indonesia produced 10%.

Mr. Laurel said that Indonesian output is now five times that of the Philippines.

Mr. Fausto warned that the US government, through the National Organics Standards Board, is reviewing the organic status of carrageenan, a seaweed product.

“Delisting carrageenan would imperil the Philippine market share in the US (52%, valued at about $40 million), and have a potential adverse effect on the European market (18% market share, about $75 million), due to disinformation about carrageenan safety,” he added.

Seaweed production rose 5.3% to 1.6 million metric tons in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.