SOUTH SULAWESI LEADS PRODUCTION
South Sulawesi is Indonesia’s top seaweed-producing province.
In 2024, Indonesia produced 10.8 million tonnes of seaweed, with more than 4 million tonnes coming from South Sulawesi alone.
But while supply is usually abundant, prices are volatile and heavily dependent on global demand.
“Three years ago, my boss had seven countries on his client list and shipments were constant,” said N Sijaya, a middleman who links small producers to larger markets.
“Now, we only have China.”
CHINA DOMINATES SEAWEED PROCESSING
From January to October last year, Indonesia’s seaweed exports generated more than US$260 million. Over 80 per cent of those exports went to China, its top market for the past decade.
Chinese firms primarily import dried raw seaweed and process it into higher-value by-products. One of the most commercially significant is carrageenan – a gelling, thickening and stabilising agent extracted from red seaweed and widely used in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
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