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Special Report Special Report

Seaweed industry in India – Perspectives on and at the same time to be more effi cient. projected to reach US$2.16-bn by 2032 stimulants under the Fertiliser (Control)
Alarming global warming and changing at a CAGR of 9.5%. Seaweed extract Order, 1985 to ensure their quality for
business opportunities & research advancements climatic conditions has negative impact biostimulants have the largest market farmers.
on agricultural yield. In addition, the share in the Indian biostimulants mar-
impact of chemical fertiliser on soil quality ket, similar to global trends, accounting The other major push factor from
INTRODUCTION the efforts made by CSIR-Central Salt DR. KANDEEBAN M has forced agricultural sector to rethink for 37.4% with total market value of industry point of view is that the co-
eaweeds with its diverse com- and Marine Chemicals Research In- Senior Scientist and adopt agriculture with more sus- US$57.2-mn in 2022. The Indian bio- product of the biostimulant extraction
position, can be a potential raw stitute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, Business Division tainable practices. Seaweed based plant stimulants market is expected to grow at process can be used as raw material for
Smaterial for wide range of appli- Gujarat, in the area of seaweed culti- kandeeban@csmcri.res.in biostimulants are one of the best com- a CAGR of 10.27% and is projected to other products.
cation. The utilisation and applications vation, processing and its applica- DR. NIKHILESH TRIVEDI plements to existing fertilisers in tack- reach US$343-mn in 2030 (India Bio-
of seaweeds as such and/or its derived/ tions/products. CSIR-CSMCRI is Scientist, Business Division ling abiotic stress (particularly heat and stimulants Market 2017-29, Mordor Challenges
value-added products is vast & di- one of the premier institutes under CSIR – Central Salt & Marine drought stress), biotic stress (resistance Intelligence Report, 2023). Lack of evidence of the effi cacy
verse, ranging from source for human the ages of Council of Scientific and Chemicals Research Institute against fungus) and helps in increasing of the variety of seaweed products is
food to being ingredient in animals/ Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry (CSMCRI) the agricultural yield (18-30%) to a Drivers one of the major issues, which can be
pet and fi sh feed processing industry, of Science and Technology. It is one substantial level. Environmental factors, health fac- attributed to the complexity of the
as plant growth regulators to consti- of the pioneer institutes that works in different industrial/value-added pro- tors and growing consumer orientation interaction mechanism in different soil
tuents of growth mediums in biological the area of seaweed cultivation and ducts, has been increasing. There are eight types of biostimu- towards organic foods and implemen- types and inconsistent performance.
and molecular biology research. Sea- further value-addition in India. Over lants including seaweed based biostimu tation of organic regulations across the Biostimulants are comparatively new
weeds also have various applications six decades, more than 20 companies The latest State of World Fisheries lants, humic acid, fulvic acid, amino globe are the major driving factors in for many stakeholders and end-users.
in pharmacology, biomedical, and bio- have been spun-off through CSIR- and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report from acids, microbial biostimulants, trace growth of biostimulants. From indus-
engineering domains. The value-added CSMCRI’s seaweed related techno- the Food and Agriculture Organization minerals and others. Among them, sea- tries point of view, entry barriers in Despite the low entry barrier to
products from seaweeds also fi nd use logy transfer. of the United Nations reveals that global weed based biostimulants contributes seaweed based biostimulants business is get into this business, it is diffi cult for
in cosmetic industry. algae production reached 36-mt (wet majorly to the total available biostimu- less compared to other biostimulants. small and medium scale enterprises to
Current status of global seaweed weight) in 2020. This total encompasses lants in the market. The global sea- This encourages and allows MSMEs compete with existing large companies
This brief study tries to provide production both wild-harvested and farmed seaweed weed biostimulants industry is already to enter into the business. Recently, considering the existing business model.
the various applications of seaweeds, Global seaweed production has and microalgae, although the volume valued at US$1.04-bn (2023) and it is the Government of India included bio- In most cases, seaweed biostimulant
its value-added products, their market been growing at an average of 9% per of microalgae is under 100,000-tonnes
status and the underlying business annum (World Bank Report, 2023). (wet weight), making it less signifi cant
opportunities in the seaweed industry The demand for algae, both for human in comparison. (FAO, 2024).
in India. The brief report also highlights consumption or as raw material for
Similarly, seaweed farming in India
has the potential to impact millions of
lives. Expert estimates suggest that, with
the right support for the ecosystem, ap-
proximately 400,000 families, or around
1.6-mn individuals, could benefi t from
seaweed farming. This represents a
signifi cant increase from the current
involvement of over 40,000 families in
this sector. In terms of revenue, India’s
seaweed sector, valued at Rs. 200-crore
in 2022, could grow to Rs. 3,277-crore
within the next decade. (Radhakrishnan,
Sharma et al. 2025).

Agricultural industry: Plant growth
regulators
Growing global population and limi-
ted cultivable land has been creating
huge pressure on agricultural sector in
terms of meeting global food demand

160 Chemical Weekly April 29, 2025 Chemical Weekly April 29, 2025 161

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