II. CURRENT STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY AND TRADE

In 1988 the world seaweed industry produced about 50,000 tonnes of carrageenan valued at US$ 300 million. A breakdown of production figures by country is provided in Table 1. The carrageenan industry now obtains 50% of its seaweeds from developing countries, mainly the Philippines and Indonesia, and largely as a result of the seafarming introduced in these countries in recent years. The Philippines supplies nearly 75% of the 20,000 tonnes of Eucheuma obtained from developing countries, the balance largely provided by Chile and Indonesia.

Table 1. Estimated production of dried seaweed for specific seaweed gums by country, 1988. Values in MT.

Source: INFOFISH Fact Sheet, November 15, 1989.

Denmark, France and the United States produce more than 90% of world carrageenan (Table 2), which is estimated at 10,000 tonnes per annum. Japan and Spain are the next largest producers (400 and 500 tonnes, respectively). Production in developing countries is currently negligible. It is reported that the Republic of Korea and Argentina have operated small units over the last few years and that recently the Philippines has begun producing a semi-refined product. The establishment of some processing facilities in Chile may be envisaged in the near future.

World demand for carrageenan estimated at 10,000 tonnes/year, comes mainly from industrialized countries. Japan alone accounts for 22% of the total demand (2,200 tonnes yearly), relying mainly on imports. Domestic production amounts to 400 tonnes/year of carrageenan, of which it exports 100 tonnes/year. Reliable estimates of demand in other major markets are unavailable. It is, however, assumed that Western Europe and North America each accounts for 25% of world demand. The balance is shared by the rest of the world and the proportion ascribed to developing countries is small.