Tawi-Tawi seeks DA support in dev't of seaweed industry

Tawi-Tawi Governor Hji. Sadikul A. Sahali is urging the Department of Agriculture to help strengthen and further develop the thriving seaweed industry in the province which produces about P6.6 billion worth of raw seaweeds a year.

In a letter dated Aug. 14, Sahali informed Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap that the demand for seaweeds has soared dramatically over the past year, causing the price of raw seaweed to triple over the past three months.

Sahali wrote that the price of raw seaweed has increased from $800 a ton at the end of last year to over $2,000 a ton in August due to dwindling production and the global increase in demand for seaweed which is processed into carageenan.

The price increase, Sahali noted, is a cause for grave concern for processors who are hard pressed to keep up with rising production costs.

“The situation may be good to the farmers, but rising prices have some negative signals from other industry players,” Sahali wrote.

Philippine Development Assistance Program (PDAP) Executive Director Jerry Pacturan has noted that global seaweed processors from Europe, North America and recently from China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore are turning to the Philippines as a major source because word is getting around that Philippine seaweeds are best suited for the production of carageenan.

Carageenan is an important ingredient in a number of products. It is primarily used as a stabilizing, thickening, binding and gelling agent. In dairy products, carageenan is used in the manufacture of fruit yogurts, chocolate milk, ice cream, chocolate mousse and cottage cheese.

Carageenan is also used in dessert jellies, cake icings, syrups, gummy candies, gelatins as well as in concentrated fruit juices, soups, seasoning sauces and salad dressings.

Non-food applications include toothpaste, air fresheners, shampoos and cosmetics.

Sahali is asking Yap to immediately convene a special meeting or forum that will gather the Seaweeds Industry of the Philippines, Philippine Seaweeds Industry Council, LGUs and partners such as the PDAP.

“The objective of the meeting is to strengthen and develop the seaweeds industry in Tawi-Tawi such that it will benefit the small farmers as well as the processors and redound to the economic development of the Tawi-Tawians,” Sahali said.

The Philippines is one of the world’s top producers of seaweed with the municipality of Sitangkai as the single biggest source, accounting for half of the country’s total production of about 120,000 metric tons.

The country’s total output is estimated to be worth $200 million or over P9.4 billion, with Tawi-tawi accounting for P6.6 billion.

PDAP, is supporting the growth of the Sitangkai seaweed industry through its promoting rural industries and market enhancement program which is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

PDAP has also been instrumental in the formulation of the Sitangkai Seaweeds Industry Master Plan, a medium-term development plan that will increase the income of seaweed farmers and improve their standard of living.

The master plan calls for an increase in the seaweed production area in Sitangkai, dubbed the Seaweed Capital of the Philippines, from 2,500 hectares to as much as 10,000 hectares by 2010.

The master plan also aims to increase total seaweed production from 3,000 metric tons a month to 27,000 metric tons and increase average farm income from P60,000 to P300,000 a year.