Indonesia seaweed supply to RP assured

BusinessMirror, Agri-Commodities, Written by Jennifer A. Ng / Reporter, WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2010 19:48

INDONESIA has assured seaweed processors from the Philippines that it will be able to supply its requirements for raw seaweed in the coming years.

Dr. Victor Nikijuluw, a director of Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, disclosed that Jakarta is not planning to impose a total ban on seaweed exports.

“[We are not planning to impose] a total ban; what we plan to do is manage exports,” Nikijuluw told reporters in a press briefing in Makati City late Monday night.

The Indonesian official said he is looking at three approaches to “manage exports.”

One approach, he said, is to give the license to import raw seaweed to companies that operate processing plants in Indonesia.

“[The second approach] is to give the export license to small and medium enterprises and cooperatives. This will ensure that SMEs and cooperatives benefit from the export of raw seaweed,” said Nikijuluw.

The Indonesian official said the third approach would be to implement a quota system for traders. He noted that Jakarta may implement all these strategies by 2012.

Last year Nikijuluw disclosed that Indonesia produced a total of 300,000 metric tons of raw seaweed. Of this volume, around 85 percent was exported to other markets. China cornered a significant chunk of this volume. The Philippines accounts for about 25 percent of what Indonesia exports to the world.

By 2014, Indonesia is targeting to increase raw-seaweed production to 1 million metric tons. Nikijuluw assured that the Philippines would still be able to get supply from Indonesia.

Benson Dakay, president of the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP), hopes that Indonesia will not resort to a total ban on raw-seaweed exports.

“[Jakarta] wants [all raw seaweeds] to be processed before it ships out seaweed products. If Indonesia will impose a total ban, [their] farmers would surely suffer, because they will lose markets for their produce,” said Dakay, who also owns the seaweed-processing firm Shemberg Corp.

Meanwhile, Dakay disclosed that local seaweed processors are operating below capacity due to the lack of local seaweed supply.

“Our cottonii processing is only 30 percent, because there is no raw seaweed. We [currently] rely on Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia for supply,” he said.

The SIAP chief said the lack of local seaweed supply can be traced to the inability of farmers to get financing for their farming venture.

“In the past, [seaweed-processing companies] extend loans to farmers and if they default, companies can write off their loans. Now, we can no longer do that,” said Dakay.

Benjamin Tabios Jr., assistant director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said the agency’s hands are practically tied because there is no enabling law that gives them the authority to finance seaweed farmers.

“Nowhere can you find in the Fisheries Code a specific language on financing for the seaweed industry,” said Tabios.

Seaweed is one of the top 10 export winners of the Philippines. In 2008 the value of seaweeds and carageenan exports reached $122 million, according to Department of Agriculture figures.