Angel's hair, a fast growing Tongan export [1]
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 17:34. Updated on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - 17:58.
The Tongan wild seaweed, limutanga'u, or Angel's Hair, is becoming popular in Japan and this season a local company Tangle Nano Company Ltd. will export 1,430 tonnes, bringing in $2 million pa'anga in export earnings.
Hiroki Tojo of Nano, said that the demand from their Japanese importer, Tangle Wood Company is a big increase from their total export last year of 270 tonnes.
Hiroki is expecting to bring in around $2.5 million pa'anga, an increase from the $830,000 they brought in last year.
Hiroki said that the big rise in the demand for seaweed from the Japanese market was due to a greater confidence in Nano by their Japanese importer that they could supply quality seaweed, and secondly because of bad weather in Japan.
Tojo said that seaweed is very popular in Japan for food and for the manufacture of cosmetics, and dietary supplements.
Tangle Nano has a seaweed farm near ...Atata and they have just started harvesting on September 22, which will run until the end of November or early December.
They are expecting their first shipment for Japan to leave Tonga at the end of September.
Tojo said that the harvesting or collection of the seaweed is carried out with vacuum pumps which are operated by about 20 divers at the bottom of the sea. Tojo said that in addition to their own seaweed they also buy seaweed from local divers for 40 cents a kilo.
Tojo said that after harvest, seaweed is then processed at their processing plant in Sopu, where workers hand pick extra bits and pieces or seashells from the seaweed. The final cleaning and the washing of seaweed will be carried out in Japan.
Tojo said that three other seaweed exporters were issued with licences this year but Tangle Nano has been the solo exporter of wild Tongan seaweed since March of 2001. Nano's three directors are Hiroki Tojo, Masa Nori Kawaguchi and his Tongan wife Lineti Sinisa.
The company employs 67 people.