Calcium Alginate Price Trend and Forecast

Calcium Alginate Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Calcium Alginate in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Calcium Alginate Price Trend for the Year 2024

In 2024, calcium alginate prices experienced significant volatility, primarily driven by complex global market dynamics affecting seaweed production. South Korea, commanding over 70% of the global dried seaweed market, faced unprecedented challenges with seaweed harvests impacted by rising ocean temperatures and marine desertification.
 

Calcium Alginate Price Chart

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The pricing was substantially influenced by multiple interconnected factors. Japan's seaweed harvests reached near-record lows, with wakame production in the Sanriku coastal region hitting historic minimums since 1977. This scarcity was compounded by a global surge in demand, particularly from markets like the United States, where Korean seaweed products were increasingly popular.

Structural industry challenges further complicated the pricing landscape. Over 40% of fishing village populations were aged over 70, indicating significant demographic stress in seaweed farming. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in South Korea responded by planning to expand seaweed farming areas by approximately 2,700 hectares and researching high-temperature-resistant seaweed variants.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the market for calcium alginate is expected to behave in a similar manner in the coming months. Investment in sustainable cultivation technologies, climate-adaptive farming techniques, and expanding global markets could lead to gradual price stabilization and improved production resilience in the coming years.
 

Calcium Alginate Price Trend for the Second Half of 2023

Calcium Alginate prices kept on vacillating in accordance with the fluctuations in the prices of its feedstock material seaweed, but the overall market outlook was still very firm throughout. Tanzania, the biggest seaweed producer, registered a record 52% year-on-year growth in the seaweed yield in the third quarter. This essentially reduced the production costs of calcium alginate and reduced the upstream cost support, imparting a slide in the calcium alginate price trend.

The downstream demands from the food and medicine industries also remained steady, and the inventories were also stocked sufficiently. All these factors dictated an average performance of the calcium alginate market throughout the second half of the year 2023.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the Calcium Alginate prices are likely to fluctuate within a limited range in the coming months as well. The supply and demand dynamics appear stable for the calcium alginate market.
 

Calcium Alginate Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

The price trend for Calcium Alginate closely follow that of its feedstock seaweed. The seaweed prices experienced major fluctuations in H1’23, especially in Asia, as the majority of the global seaweed production comes from the Asian region. The production yields fell significantly due to adverse weather conditions and a red tide outbreak in Japan’s main seaweed-producing region. This led to a significant rise in farmers’ prices, prompting the leading processors to raise their prices.

Hence, the prices of seaweed and allied products rose amidst high demands from both domestic and international markets. Further, the majority of the supplies available were diverted for food, causing a shortage of supplies for alginate production. The high upstream costs coupled with the consistent downstream demands caused the calcium alginate prices to incline in the concerned period.

Analyst Insight

According to the Procurement Resource, the Calcium Alginate market projections look promising as downstream demands for feedstock seaweed are high amidst limited supplies. So, the prices are expected to fluctuate, wavering at an inclined curve.
 

Calcium Alginate Price Trend for the Second Half of 2022

The price trend for calcium alginate closely mimic the pricing pattern of its feedstock seaweed. The Asian continent, especially Indonesia is the biggest producer and exporter of seaweed. After, crashing in H1, feedstock seaweed prices started picking pace in the middle of H2 2022. As Indonesia eased export bans, Chinese consumers were back in the market. The holiday season also affected the demand and prices of seaweed prices as it is consumed as a ceremonial food in many parts of Asia.

While the demand kept volatile it directly impacted the livelihood of the coastal farming community causing the prices to rise. Thus, the price trend of calcium alginate recorded a mixed outlook throughout the global markets.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend for calcium alginate are likely to register a mixed pattern in the upcoming quarter. The downstream demand and the farming costs will directly impact seaweed production.
 

Calcium Alginate Price Trend For the First Half of 2022

Calcium alginate is the calcium salt of alginic acid or alginate extracted from seaweed. The price of feedstock seaweed governs the price trend for calcium alginate globally. Southeast Asia fulfils the majority of the global seaweed demand. Recently the prices of Indonesian seaweed (the largest producer) have been highly volatile, making it difficult for farmers to earn a sustainable living.

Since China is the principal processor of seaweed, feedstock prices mainly depend on robust demand from China. With zero-tolerance covid restrictions placed by the Chinese government, the manufacturing industry suffered. Even after removing restrictions, the turnaround was not optimum as the market demand sentiment suffered from inflated prices and supply-side constraints.

This fall in demand from China negatively impacted Indonesian seaweed prices, which further affected the prices of calcium alginate. Also, the export restrictions placed by the Indonesian government and depreciation against the US dollar further crashed seaweed prices. The prices of seaweed in China averaged 2.97-4.21 USD/kg, while that in Europe averaged 3.56-3.87 USD/kg.

However, in the US domestic market, the seaweed prices were slightly raised due to higher demand averaging 10.55 USD/kg. Despite the oscillating trend in seaweed prices, calcium alginate prices remained afloat in the global market owing to the steady demand from the pharmaceutical and dental industries.

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