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ABSTRACT
This report is an update of the status of the global seaweed market: production figures from culture and capture, the size of the international market for seaweed and its commercially important extracts, the leading nations by region, developments in processing and utilization technology, and innovations in the industry, as well as the challenges and outlook for the industry.
As it is not possible to feature all individual countries of importance in the seaweed sector, several have been selected as being representative of the different regions of the world: Asia [China, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand); South America (Chile); Europe (Denmark, the European Union); and Africa (Morocco, South Africa and Zanzibar (Tanzania)]. The sections on Chile, China, Denmark and South Africa are based largely on previous studies commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
OVERVIEW
1.1INTRODUCTION
Seaweed, or marine algae, comes in various shades of red, brown and green, and may be shaped in the form of broad leaves, delicate fingers, spheres or may resemble fruit. Although a few genera are free-floating, most are anchored in littoral zones. Some tuftforming, blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), at times, may be considered seaweed.
Seaweed has been utilized throughout the world for centuries, and was considered only as a food source for coastal communities in the earliest times. Apart from its wide-ranging use in many industries (as will be elaborated upon later), seaweed contributes greatly to the nutritional status of communities due to its rich composition of macronutrients such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, chlorine, sulphur and phosphorus; micronutrients (iodine, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, molybdenum, fluoride, manganese, boron, nickel and cobalt); and vitamins (B12, A, K). In taking iodine, for example, the daily adult requirement of 150 pg/day is easily met by small quantities of seaweed, particularly brown algae such as kelp, which has an iodine content that ranges from 1 500-8 000 parts per million. According to the World Health Organization, iodine deficiency is the most prevalent and easily preventable cause in the world of impaired cognitive development in children.
Some 221 species of seaweed are of commercial value. About ten species are intensively cultivated, such as brown seaweed (Saccharina japónica, Undaria pinnatifid and Sargassum fusiforme); red seaweed (Porphyra spp., Eucheuma...