Alcala promises assistance to seaweed sector

CEBU, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has assured the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) that he would help the local seaweed industry achieve its full potential.

Alcala noted that the seaweed industry has already brought in up to $5 billion in export revenues.

He, however, could not immediately outline the Department of Agriculture’s assistance plan for the sector as he said he intends to hear out their concerns first. 

The seaweed stakeholders urged the DA chief to assist them in increasing their production which has dropped from a peak of 120,000 tons to a projected 80,000 tons this year.

The seaweed sector took issue with a discrepancy in production figures reported by the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) as against the industry’s much lower figures.

The SIAP members also expressed the need for them to be able to access more financing for their seaweed farms. Banks have been reluctant to provide loans to seaweed farmers as, according to one banker, production is not easily visible since seaweed grows underwater.

SIAP also sought Alcala’s help in pushing negotiations to convince China to lower its tariffs on Philippine carageenan exports under the umbrella of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Free Trade Agreement.

In an earlier interview with The STAR, SIAP president Benson Dakay pointed out that China currently slaps an effective tariff of almost 35 percent on Philippine carageenan exports.

The 35 percent tariff, is based on a 17 percent actual tariff plus a 12 percent value-added tax, and various other charges and fees, he pointed out.

But China is the future growth market for the Philippines and other seaweed exporting countries such as Indonesia, Dakay stressed. Because of their econo-mic problems, the traditional carageenan markets of the United States and Europe, are virtually stagnant at this time.

The Philippines exports about 25,000 tons of processed carageenan annually valued at around $200 million.

China, at present, imports about 50,000 tons of raw seaweed from Indonesia and about 10,000 of cottonii seaweeds from the Philippines, but slaps a duty on carageenan imports.