A cycle of boon and bane is bringing down the price of dried seaweed. "The low buying price is caused by production fluctuation from late 2015 until early 2017," said Dr. Nicomedes Decomenden of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), adding the number of idle seaweed farm has increased as a result. At the same time, unstable supply and price have weakened the quality of cultivated seaweed varieties, he told a techno-forum organized by the Ilocos Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development Consortium Five multinational processors with a combined capacity of 12,200 metric tons and nine local processors (capacity: 25,800 MT) are also involved.

Icamina, P. (2017, November 29). Fluctuating output brings seaweed prices down. Malaya Business Insight, pp. A1, A4.