Fresh seaweeds are prepared for delivery to restaurants on Siargao Island where these produce are in high demand.
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Philippine government needs to develop local seaweed industry to boost production and regain the country鈥檚 position as the world鈥檚 top seaweed exporter.
Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel made the statement on Sunday.
Laurel disclosed may be falling behind in seaweed production 鈥� a field that it once dominated.
鈥淲e really need to support the industry. Indonesia already surpassed our production,鈥� Tiu-Laurel revealed.
鈥淲e still have [an] unutilized area of 85,000 hectares. Until we reach that, we shouldn鈥檛 stop,鈥� he noted.
鈥淚f possible, we should accelerate the industry鈥檚 area expansion,鈥� the Agriculture secretary added.
According to DA, Philippines accounted for 80 percent of the world鈥檚 seaweed requirement in 1990, while Indonesia produced only 10 percent.
This record has since changed as Indonesia is now producing five times more seaweed than Philippines, it said.
Tiu-Laurel said local producers suffer from a lack of seedlings, but he said the problem can be solved by setting up bigger tissue culture laboratories.
Tiu-Laurel also sees the need to construct more ports so that huge volumes of raw materials can be moved from farms to processing plants.
Most of the country鈥檚 seaweed production comes from Mindanao, but processing facilities are located in Cebu and Manila.
The Secretary said the country must invest a total of P1 billion pesos in the industry.
The fund will build large tissue culture laboratories, dryers, warehouses and train more technicians.
Laurel estimated with proper support, will be able to produce up to P550 million worth of seaweed every year, which he said is a 鈥済ood return.鈥�