Top seaweed firm to hike exports

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Sitangkai Seaweed Export Co. (Sitexports), the first seaweed exporter in Tawi-Tawi and the entire Muslim region, is planning to double its shipment of seaweeds this year as it takes advantage of increasing demand and prices. Jolly S. Ahaja, Sitexports general manager, said the company would try to ship at least 1,000 metric tons of dried Eucheuma this year. The price of Philippine seaweed is about $900 per metric ton. "Our main objective right now is to boost our production and encourage more farmers in Sitangkai to plant seaweed," he said in an interview. The Philippines is the leading supplier of Eucheuma seaweeds, accounting for about 80% of total world supply, but its neighbors have launched their own seaweed programs supported by large credit, and research and development. Seaweeds are one of the country's most successful fishery products, but it is essentially a small-grower industry, providing livelihood in poor coastal areas. Sitexports maintains two warehouses and a buying station in the village of Panglima Alari in Sitangkai and in this city, which has a capacity of 40 metric tons of export-quality seaweeds per day. Mr. Ahaja said the company ships their seaweed products to European countries, particularly France, where seaweed is processed as an additive and ingredient of cosmetics, dairy products, pet food, syrup, ice cream and water-based paints. The company recently borrowed P5 million, which it will use to buy dried seaweed from farmers and cover operational costs. The farm gate price of dried seaweed ranges from P48 to P50 per kilo. Sitexports, which was set up in 2005 and started exporting in mid-2006, employs experienced workers and quality control officers with more than 20 years of experience in the seaweed industry, the company said. "Being right at the source, Sitex-ports can offer the best quality Eu-cheuma seaweeds at the most competitive price," it said. The company claims laboratory tests by foreign companies have confirmed that Sitangkai seaweeds have higher yield than other sources worldwide. The company has partnered with the Canadian-funded Philippine Development Assistance Program (PDAP) in coming up with a seaweed master development plan for Sitang-kai in Tawi-Tawi, the country's seaweed capital. Jerry E. Pacturan, PDAP executive director, earlier said the plan would be applied not only in Sitangkai but also in the nearby town of Sibutu. The plan covers environmental sustainability, natural resource management, local governance, social services for seaweed farmers and infrastructure. The study noted that the town of Sitangkai accounts for more than half of the country's seaweed production, with at least 3,000 metric tons of dried seaweed produced monthly. Seaweed farming in the town covers roughly 2,500 hectares, with 60,000 more hectares with a potential for cultivation. The master plan seeks to increase Sitangkai's seaweed production area from 2,500 hectares to 10,000 hectares by 2010, hike total seaweed production from 3,000 to 27,000 metric tons a month and increase average farm income from P60,000 to P300,000 per hectare per year. Mr. Pacturan noted that without a long-term program, the Philippines could be overtaken by other major seaweed exporting countries, particularly Indonesia. Based on his report, the current price of the Philippines' seaweed stood at $800 to $900 per metric ton while Indonesia is selling at only $600 per metric ton. - BusinessWorld