Carrageenan Price Trend and Forecast

Carrageenan Regional Price Overview

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

Carrageenan Price Trend for the First Half of 2024

In the first half of 2024, the price of carrageenan, a hydrocolloid derived from red seaweed, experienced significant upward pressure due to the ongoing challenges in seaweed harvests, particularly in Japan, where seaweed production has hit near-record lows. The decline in seaweed availability, driven by rising sea temperatures and adverse weather conditions, has impacted not only local markets but also the global supply chain for carrageenan, which is widely used as a thickening, gelling, and stabilizing agent in the food industry.
 

Carrageenan Price Chart

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As the supply of the raw material becomes constrained, carrageenan prices have surged, mirroring the trend seen with other seaweed-based products like wakame and kombu. The interconnectedness of these markets is due to their shared reliance on seaweed, whose cultivation is increasingly challenged by environmental changes. As a result, the industrial significance of carrageenan, particularly in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors, has led to heightened market volatility, reflecting broader concerns about the sustainability and future availability of seaweed-derived products.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, Carrageenan prices are likely to remain fluctuating in the coming times as well; not much change is expected in the immediate future.
 

Carrageenan Price Trend for the Second Half of 2023

Carrageenan prices showcased a fluctuating trajectory in accordance with variations in the market of its feedstock seaweed. Carrageenan is a naturally occurring polysaccharide that is used as a plant-base substitute for gelatine. Since gelatine cannot be used in vegan and vegetarian diets because of its animal source, carrageenan is used instead. As veganism is on the rise, the demands were more or less firm throughout the said period.

Tanzania, the biggest seaweed producer, registered a record 52% year-on-year growth in the seaweed yield in the third quarter. This, however, brought the upstream costs under control and balanced out the prices in markets. Since healthy upstream and downstream outlooks were witnessed, a steady and average market performance was registered.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the Carrageenan price trends are likely to fluctuate within a limited range in the coming months. The supply and demand dynamics appear stable for the Carrageenan market.
 

Carrageenan Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Carrageenans are flexible, naturally sulfated molecules used for various purposes. But famously, it is a good phyto-based gelatin replacement for vegan people. It is used as a thickening and gelling agent for foods and beverages.

Carrageenan prices are driven by its feedstock seaweed prices. Seaweed prices are directly dependent on the yield collected by the seaweed farmers, which ensures market supply. During the discussed period, seasonal and climatic disruptions affected the seaweed crop immensely. Unseasonal and uneven rainfalls created situations of floods in some places and conditions of drought in some, which considerably reduced the seaweed yield.

With curtailed supplies amidst low yields, the upstream costs rose, increasing the overall prices. However, as the demands from the consumption sectors were moderate, a swinging price trend was observed.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend for Carrageenan will continue to fluctuate in the coming months, given the lower yields owing to persistent harsh weather conditions.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Carrageenan. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.