88 MARINE INDUSTRIES GLOBAL MARKET ANALYSIS
MARINE INDUSTRIES GLOBAL MARKET ANALYSIS 89 15 Seaweed 1999–03 2004 2005–09 Irish <strong>Market</strong> €M 10 – – UK <strong>Market</strong> €M – – – Europe <strong>Market</strong> €M – – – World <strong>Market</strong> €M 28,490 5,988 32,746 Definition – value of farmed and harvested seaweeds as defied by the FAO. 15.1 INTRODUCTION Today seaweed is used as food, food supplements, fertilizers, cosmetics and for medicinal preparations.The three main groups of commercial seaweed are red, brown and green and production is harvested from wild and cultivated sources, with the latter constituting the majority of the production. Figure 15.1: Seaweed – World <strong>Market</strong> 15.2 WORLD MARKET The value of the world seaweed market was almost €6 billion in 2004, over 90% of which was cultivated, the rest wild. Asia is responsible for the vast majority of this production, of which China and Japan are the main contributors.There is very high market demand in Asia and China’s demand has outstripped the domestic supply, and has had to resort to importing from countries such as Korea.The farming of seaweed has expanded rapidly as demand has outstripped the supply available from natural resources. Commercial harvesting occurs in about 35 countries, spread between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. 58 At the start of the reported period seaweed production was valued at €6.4 billion, then dipped in 2000, but the following years have all seen growth, with such value of production forecast to be reached again in 2006. Forecast annual growth 2005–2009 is estimated at 3%. 15.3 EUROPEAN MARKET In Europe, seaweed aquaculture has only developed to any commercial extent in France where wakame is being grown for food, although this does not appear in international data. It is likely that more extensive seaweed aquaculture will become more widespread in Europe over the next two to three decades. Ireland, with its extensive coastline, has a long history of seaweed use. Ireland’s Atlantic seaboard in particular, is ideal for the settlement of seaweeds. Seaweed is the basis for an industry providing valuable employment in coastal areas that are geographically remote. Only a dozen or so larger species have been put to any commercial use. 59 Whilst there are not many companies actively involved in seaweed or sea vegetable cultivation in Ireland at present, the industry employs several hundred people, both part-time and full-time gatherers, plus those involved in the processing side.The value of production of the seaweed industry in Ireland (€9 million) does not figure in the Eurostat or Fishstat data, perhaps due to the relatively small size of the industry. Source: Douglas–Westwood Table 15.1: Seaweed – World <strong>Market</strong> 1999–03 2004 2005–09 Africa 42 11 61 Asia 24,061 5,247 28,694 Australasia 66 13 72 E Europe/FSU 515 126 692 Latin America 879 235 1,283 Middle East 0 0 0 North America 2,898 351 1,919 Western Europe 31 4 24 TOTAL (€M) 28,490 5,988 32,746 Source: Historic Eurostat, forecast DWL Figure 15.1: Seaweed – Regional Segmentation 2005–2009 58 FAO:‘A guide to the Seaweed Industry’ 2003. 59 Morrissey J., Kraan S. & Guiry M.D.,‘A Guide to Commercially Important Seaweeds on the Irish Coast’, 2001. Source: Douglas–Westwood