Philippine seaweeds face brighter future By Victoria Asuncion S. Mendoza PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, July 11 (PIA) -- The Philippine seaweeds industry will face a bright future as indicated by recent developments across Asian regions. This was the result of the recently concluded 1st Agribusiness Cluster Meeting in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) held in this city. In a press conference, Atty. Benjamin Tabios Jr., assistant director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said the BIMP-EAGA has the advantage because we have the supply for raw materials and processor for carageenan, a by-product of seaweeds. Philippine seaweeds production is dominated by Palawan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Bohol, and Zamboanga Sibugay, accounting for 70 percent of the Philippines’ volume of production of 1,751,050 metric tons in 2012. The country is the world’s third largest seaweeds producer with Indonesia as the second. “We have in the region the second and third largest producers of seaweeds in the world, and Malaysia as a significant processor of these seaweeds. If we join together, through a formidable alliance, we can dictate prices,” said Tabios. Tabios said that the demand for seaweeds keeps on growing worldwide and BFAR is continuously in full support of the industry by providing training and technical assistance to ensure its quality. “Also discussed in the meeting was the setting up of standards by which seaweeds may be measured, including the standardization of aquaculture practices,” Tabios said. In the Philippines, a series of workshops have already been conducted to respond to this need for standardization. Harmonization of the Philippine EAGA Good Aquaculture Practices and Product Standards was already conducted in Puerto Princesa City, Davao City and General Santos City. The BIMP-EAGA seaweed development project was one of the agenda in the cluster meeting, composed of the Working Group on Agro-Industry and Working Group on Fisheries Cooperation. The Philippines chairs the cluster for three years. (LBR/VSM/PIA4B, Palawan)
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:34:15 +0000