Seaweed sector not likely to get financial help

MANILA, Philippines - Badly needed financial assistance to the stagnant Philippine seaweed industry is not forthcoming, even as local carageenan processors continue to woo Indonesia not to ban the export of raw seaweeds.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assistant director for administrative services Benjamin F. S. Tabios Jr. said budgetary support for the local seaweed industry is difficult to secure from Congress.

What the BFAR currently provides, Tabios said, is technical support in improving production. He added that financing for seaweed production is difficult to secure since financiers “have difficulty financing something which they cannot see grow.”

Seaweeds grow under water and are vulnerable to climate change and typhoons.

Philippine seaweed production has been declining, forcing local carageenan processors to increasingly rely on imports of raw seaweed from Indonesia.

However, Indonesia is planning to ban the export of raw seaweeds by 2012 and is pushing for more value-adding or intermediate processing into seaweed chips.

One of the biggest carageenan processor in the country, Shemberg Corp., is at the forefront of efforts to convince the Indonesian government to continue its seaweed exports to the Philippines.

Upon the invitation of Shemberg president Benson Dakay, Dr. Victor Nikijuluw, Indonesia’s Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, was recently in the Philippines to discuss possible bilateral cooperation between the two countries and private sector investments in Indonesia.

According to Dr. Nikijuluw, Indonesia is not thinking of a total ban on seaweed exports. He said Indonesia wants to “manage” its marine resources and encourage more investments in value-added processing.

At present, Indonesia exports up to 85 percent of its raw seaweed production amounting to around 300,000 metric tons.

Nikijuluw said Indonesia will continue to allocate or set a quota for its raw seaweed production since it does not have enough local capacity to process the seaweed.

Philippine traders and corporations like Shemberg, Dr. Nikijuluw assured, would likely be able to maintain their trade volume.

At the same time, Dr. Nikijuluw pointed out, Indonesia is planning to increase its seaweed production to one million metric tons by 2014, which would ensure continued exports.