Members of the Seaweed Industry, Association of the Philippines (SIAP)hope to expand their market for carrageenan products ( a eucheuma-based food additive) in China after the creation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA). Benson U. Dakay, president of STAP and Shemberg Marketing Corp. CEO announced this bright prospect after he learned the Department of Agriculture (DA) was ready to submit DA’s first batch of the "Early Harvest Agricultural Products" package. The first agricultural products of the DA include carrageenan, tuna, canned pineapple and breeding animals, Dakay disclosed.

Seaweed industry looks to China for expansion. (2002, November 3). The Philippine Star, p. B-3.