Rapid market analysis of the seaweed value chain in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Seaweed is a highly versatile product with significant potential as a nutritious food source and a key component in various consumer and agricultural goods. Its environmental benefits and commercial potential present an important opportunity for boosting incomes and generating entrepreneurship opportunities for vulnerable populations in Cox’s Bazar. ILO has conducted a rapid market analysis of the seaweed value chain in Cox’s Bazar as part of the project “Leaving No One Behind: Improving Skills and Economic Opportunities for the Women and Youth in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh” aiming to understand the challenges and opportunities within the seaweed value chain with a focus on women and vulnerable groups.

The global and domestic demand for seaweed is growing due to its diverse applications, including its use as a nutritious source of vitamins and protein, a thickening agent in food products, and an ingredient in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, animal feed, and fertilizers. Although Bangladesh’s seaweed industry is still in its early stages, Cox’s Bazar has ideal geographic and climatic conditions for seaweed production. Currently, seaweed is harvested and cultivated on a small scale by households and women farmers clusters at various coastal communities within district, serving as a source of supplementary income. For the extremely economically vulnerable coastal communities, seaweed farming and associated activities provide an alternative livelihoods option that is critical income source as they face increasing risks on their livelihoods due to climate change impacts. However, the local and domestic markets for seaweed remain niche, hindered by a lack of technical knowledge, value-added products, and industrial processing facilities.

To address these challenges, the report outlines several potential market-based interventions. These include increasing production and productivity by establishing nursery infrastructure and improving cultivation methods, supporting sector development and coordination by enhancing the social marketing of seaweed, and developing value addition opportunities through further supporting post-harvest processing and the promotion of high-value seaweed species. By focusing on these intervention areas, the project aims to develop Bangladesh’s seaweed sector and contribute to the socioeconomic development of local communities in Cox’s Bazar and also open income generating opportunity for vulnerable women groups in coastal communities.