Seaweed Market Size, Share, Growth | Analysis Report, 2031 (2024)

The global seaweed market was valued at $6.5 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $14.6 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2022 to 2031.

The seaweed market is segmented into Product and Application.

Before the advent of large-scale seaweed farming, seaweed was foraged only by coastal communities. With growing awareness about the health benefits of seaweed and its commercial use in various end-use industries, various countries across the globe have adopted commercial harvesting operations. An increase in demand for seaweeds as human food and in the manufacture of hydrocolloids, such as agar, alginate, and carrageenan, is anticipated to boost the demand for seaweeds during the forecast period. Seaweeds find their application in fertilizers, animal feed, biofuels, and wastewater treatment, which further supplement the seaweed industry growth.

The seaweed farming industry has developed in some countries of North America and Europe, unlike Asia-Pacific, where it is still in its nascent stage. In recent years, European policies have driven the development of seaweed cultivation as part of the European Union’s Blue Growth initiative. In support to this initiative, European countries are providing subsidies to study the possible applications of seaweeds across various end-use industries. Higher consumption of red seaweed in the food industry is anticipated to drive the seaweed market growth. In addition to this, the human food application segment held the highest seaweed market share in 2021, as seaweeds are used in many maritime countries across the globe as a source of human food.

The technique of growing and producing seaweed has substantially increased over the past 20 years, and it now plays a vital role in each country's fishing sector.Data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) show that between 2000 and 2019 (FAO 2021), the global production of seaweed fromboth aquaculture and the wildincreased by over three times, from 118,000 tonnes to 358,200 tonnes.

According to the market analysis, the seaweed market is segmented into product, application, and region. By product, it is segregated into red, brown, and green. On the basis of application, it is segmented into human food, hydrocolloids, fertilizers, animal feed additives, and others. Region-wise, it is analyzed across North America (the U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and LAMEA (Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania, and Rest of LAMEA).

On the basis of product, the red segment is expected to reach $12,116.9 million by 2031, with a CAGR of 8.8%. The pigments phycoerythrin and phycocyanin in seaweed result in red color, which masks the other pigments such as chlorophyll, beta-carotene, and a number of unique xanthophylls. In 2017, red seaweed held a dominant position in the global seaweed market, accounting for more than eight-ninths share, in terms of value. Organic beta-carotene obtained from green seaweed is useful in preventing some cancers, including lung cancer. Moreover, green seaweed finds several applications in the food industry. This is attributed to the fact that red seaweeds are the largest and most abundant of the seaweeds. Moreover, they have an economically important role throughout Asia-Pacific, due to the presence of phycocolloids such as carrageenan. The carrageenan produced from seaweed has a variety of applications in food production as a thickener and stabilizer. Thus, higher consumption of red seaweed in the food industry is anticipated to drive the growth of the market.

The human food application segment garnered the highest market share in 2021, as seaweeds are used in many maritime countries across the globe as a source of human food. In addition, the major utilization of these seaweeds as food and food ingredients is in Asia-Pacific, particularly in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, and Japan where seaweed cultivation has developed into a huge industry. In most western countries, the usage of seaweed as human food and animal feed was restricted, and thus there was no major pressure to develop seaweed cultivation techniques. However, as citizens from Asia-Pacific countries migrated to other parts of the world, the demand for seaweed as food increased in different parts of the globe.

Region-wise, Asia-Pacific dominated the seaweed market size in 2021 and is expected to sustain its dominance throughout the seaweed market forecast period. A large percentage of the Asia-Pacific population lives along coastal areas, and thus is closely associated with the sea and its resources for food. Thus, the practice of farming seaweed originated in Asia-Pacific. China is the largest producer of seaweed in the world, accounting for approximately one-fourth share of the global market in terms of value.

Major competitors in the globalseaweed market employ acquisitions and product launches as their primary development strategies to keep up with expanding consumer demand. Acquisitions assist businesses in sharing the technology requirements for both their current and future products. The market leaders would ultimately gain from this since it would provide them the opportunity to diversify their product offerings for comparably reduced costs, increasing their market share. The key players profiled in this report include Cargill, Incorporated, Chase Organics, CJ CheilJedang Corp., DowDupont Inc., GimMe Health Foods LLC, Groupe Roullier, Irish Seaweeds, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, Inc., Mara Seaweed, and Qingdao Gather Great Ocean Algae Industry Group Co. Ltd.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the seaweed market analysis from 2021 to 2031 to identify the prevailing seaweed market opportunities.
• The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
• Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders to make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
• In-depth analysis of the seaweed market segmentation assists in determining the prevailing market opportunities.
• Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
• Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
• The report includes an analysis of the regional as well as global seaweed market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.

  Seaweed Market Report Highlights