The Development of Seaweed Industry in Indonesia

Seaweed’s surge in popularity across the world spells good news for Indonesian farmers. Seaweed is a major source of income for tens of thousands of small Indonesian farmers, as well as collectors, traders, exporters, and producers. It is a key ingredient in medicines, cosmetics and foods such as cheese, among many other products.

   Popular in Asia, where the vast majority of the world’s seaweed is grown, seaweed farming has proven, in parts, to be a more lucrative and reliable source of income than fishing. If the weather is good, seaweed can be harvested after 45 days, then dried for four days on tarps in the sun before being bought by brokers, who ship the supply to Surabaya to be further processed before being exported as part of the $6-billion global seaweed industry.

   With an abundance of tropical waters and one of the longest shorelines in the world, Indonesia may soon find seaweed to be its most lucrative marine resource, spurring islanders out of poverty. With an alternative source of income for overfished coastal communities, where farmland is degraded and increasingly scarce, the islanders of Nusa Penida are showing that perhaps it is time to take farming to the sea.

   It should be noted that Indonesia, a maritime country having the world’s second longest coastal line, has very big potential in the production of seaweed.

   Today the country is the world`s biggest dried seaweed exporter with its annual exports reaching 145,000 tons. The main export destinations include Asia, Europe, America, Australia, and Africa. Beside Indonesia, other tropical countries which export dried seaweed include the Philippines, which contributes 35 percent of the total tropical countries’ exports of dried seaweed.

   Seaweed is in very high demand in the international markets. Seaweed is also good fertilizer and is currently under consideration as a potential source of bioethanol.