China Continues to Buy More Seaweed From Mindanao
Posted on November 28th, 2008
Seaweed farming is getting a boost as China continues to buy more seaweed from Mindanao. What was merely just a P35 per kilo product, the price of seaweed has soared to P110 per kilo as China increased the demand for the said product. Ronald Simbajon, a marine biologist one of the presenters in the Mindanao Investment Conference recently, said that this development will encourage more entrepreneurs to try the business of seaweed farming.
Because of the increase in demands of the seaweeds, local producers of Carrageenan can now dictate a higher price for it. And it seems the demand from the China market is going on a steady rate, if not going to be to be bigger.
The Philippines is the world’s biggest producer of farmed Eucheuma seaweeds and we are supplying about 60 percent of the raw materials for Carrageenan required by China. Presently, China has more than 150 Carrageenan processors, their requirement for dried seaweeds is approximately 80,000 metric tons per annum. The growth of the industry is China has risen from 10 to 14 percent annually.
According to Simbajon in his presentation during the conference, only more than 20,000 hectares are utilized in seaweed farming out of the hundred thousand hectares available. “The industry contributes US$ 150 million to the Philippine economy, benefitting more than 160,000 coastal and island dwelling families and allied services,†he added.
The ideal farm size per family is only a quarter of a hectare seaweed farm, this could accommodate for them 500 monolines of 12.5 length harvest of 10,000 kilograms per cropping. To engage in this business, an entrepreneur would only need P80,000 while the expected annual income is P300,000.
Aside from the economic reason, the seaweed industry can also help the country’s ecological balance. The seaweeds biomass attracts the various marine species and provides sanctuary and breeding ground for marine life. And because the families living the seas are earning from the opportunity provided by seaweed farming, it can help minimize if not totally eliminate the destructive fishing practices.
