4.4 Availability of Raw Material
73
4.4 Availability of Raw Material
Recent years have seen significant increase in seaweed cultivation. The global seaweed market is projected to exceed 17.59 Billion USD by 2021 (Monagail et al.
2017) and 87 Billion USD by 2024. About 96.5% of the aquatic plant production
is dominated by seaweed. In 2016, about 30.1 million tonnes of seaweed was produced, both cultivated and caught wild, and this has shown an average increase of
over 7% between 2010 and 2016 (FAO 2018), such that there exists a very active
seaweed industry to serve the demand for raw material for alginate production. As of
2015, 99% of the global farmed seaweed output was from eight Asian nations while
150 other countries with coastal waters which could take part in seaweed farming
exist, thus indicating the under exploitation of seaweed farming in coastal waters
(Radulovich et al. 2015; Monagail et al. 2017).
Seaweed harvests go up to tens of thousands as of 2009 for example in 2009
France, UK, Norway and Ireland produced 30,500 tonnes of Laminaria spp. In the
same year, Chile and Peru produced 27,000 tonnes of Lessonia spp. A drastically
lower harvest from 35,000 tonnes in 1991 to 5000 tonnes in 2009 was recorded for
Macrocystis pyrifera in 2009. This can be attributed to the closure of the International
Specialty Products facility in San Diego. Ascophyllum also showed a sharp reduction
in harvest between the specified period going from 13,500 tonnes in 1999 to only
2000 tonnes in 2009. This is due to the increase in demand for alginates in higher gel
strength which diverted interest to seaweeds which produced higher guluronic acid
content (Bixler and Porse 2011; Hernandez-Carmona et al. 2013).
China and Indonesia are the leading producers of aquatic plants from aquaculture.
The seaweed cultivation has been on an increase from 13.1 million tonnes produced
in 1995 to 30.1 million tonnes produced in 2016. Indonesia, one of the world’s leading
seaweed producers, reportedly increased production from 4 million tonnes in 2010
to 11 million tonnes in 2016 (FAO 2018). This increase in production is credited
to the increase in demand for seaweed for production of its polysaccharides, agar,
alginate and carrageenan.
Despite the millions of tonnes of farmed seaweed available, the alginophyte
species such as Laminaria and Ascophyllum are obtained from natural stock due to
the expensive cultivation process required for these species which cannot be grown
through the vegetative method but rather must go through a more complex sexual
reproductive process which requires strict control of the environment to facilitate
the alternation of generations at different phases of the production process (McHugh
2003). Such expensive cultivation process can only be compensated by selling the
cultivated seaweed as food rather than as raw material for alginate production. This
leaves the wild seaweed annual production rate at around 1.3 million tonnes, and this
fluctuates annually (Monagail et al. 2017).
10% of the alginophytes are supplied by Chile, and these are from the wild.
Although rarely used for alginate production, when in surplus, cultivated seaweed
can be sold at a subsidized rate for alginate production. In Europe, 99% of the
seaweed produced are from wild harvest, and this makes up 1% of the global seaweed
73
4.4 Availability of Raw Material
Recent years have seen significant increase in seaweed cultivation. The global seaweed market is projected to exceed 17.59 Billion USD by 2021 (Monagail et al.
2017) and 87 Billion USD by 2024. About 96.5% of the aquatic plant production
is dominated by seaweed. In 2016, about 30.1 million tonnes of seaweed was produced, both cultivated and caught wild, and this has shown an average increase of
over 7% between 2010 and 2016 (FAO 2018), such that there exists a very active
seaweed industry to serve the demand for raw material for alginate production. As of
2015, 99% of the global farmed seaweed output was from eight Asian nations while
150 other countries with coastal waters which could take part in seaweed farming
exist, thus indicating the under exploitation of seaweed farming in coastal waters
(Radulovich et al. 2015; Monagail et al. 2017).
Seaweed harvests go up to tens of thousands as of 2009 for example in 2009
France, UK, Norway and Ireland produced 30,500 tonnes of Laminaria spp. In the
same year, Chile and Peru produced 27,000 tonnes of Lessonia spp. A drastically
lower harvest from 35,000 tonnes in 1991 to 5000 tonnes in 2009 was recorded for
Macrocystis pyrifera in 2009. This can be attributed to the closure of the International
Specialty Products facility in San Diego. Ascophyllum also showed a sharp reduction
in harvest between the specified period going from 13,500 tonnes in 1999 to only
2000 tonnes in 2009. This is due to the increase in demand for alginates in higher gel
strength which diverted interest to seaweeds which produced higher guluronic acid
content (Bixler and Porse 2011; Hernandez-Carmona et al. 2013).
China and Indonesia are the leading producers of aquatic plants from aquaculture.
The seaweed cultivation has been on an increase from 13.1 million tonnes produced
in 1995 to 30.1 million tonnes produced in 2016. Indonesia, one of the world’s leading
seaweed producers, reportedly increased production from 4 million tonnes in 2010
to 11 million tonnes in 2016 (FAO 2018). This increase in production is credited
to the increase in demand for seaweed for production of its polysaccharides, agar,
alginate and carrageenan.
Despite the millions of tonnes of farmed seaweed available, the alginophyte
species such as Laminaria and Ascophyllum are obtained from natural stock due to
the expensive cultivation process required for these species which cannot be grown
through the vegetative method but rather must go through a more complex sexual
reproductive process which requires strict control of the environment to facilitate
the alternation of generations at different phases of the production process (McHugh
2003). Such expensive cultivation process can only be compensated by selling the
cultivated seaweed as food rather than as raw material for alginate production. This
leaves the wild seaweed annual production rate at around 1.3 million tonnes, and this
fluctuates annually (Monagail et al. 2017).
10% of the alginophytes are supplied by Chile, and these are from the wild.
Although rarely used for alginate production, when in surplus, cultivated seaweed
can be sold at a subsidized rate for alginate production. In Europe, 99% of the
seaweed produced are from wild harvest, and this makes up 1% of the global seaweed