The evolution of the colloid industry

It was in the years 1955-1960 that the alginate extraction industry became significant in Brittany, at the time when the last iodine-producing factories were disappearing.

Currently, the only two French industrial sites belong to the JRS group and are located at Lannilis and Landerneau, close to the seaweed fields. They employ 160 permanent staff and many seasonal workers. But the 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes of seasonal Breton seaweed collected represent only a part of the alginate market. 800,000 tonnes of fresh seaweed are harvested worldwide each year, the main producing countries being the United States, China and Norway.

The production of carrageenans, derived from pioka, had begun at the start of the 20th century at Pleubian (Côtes-d’Armor); it came to a halt in the 1980s. Today, in France, carrageenans are mainly produced by the Cargill France plant, located at Baupte in the Manche, from red seaweed imported from Chile and Asia. The world market is dominated by Eucheuma, cultivated on a large scale in South-East Asia.

Agar-agar is produced in Spain from red seaweed: Gelidium corneum, 80% of which is harvested in Morocco, and Gracilaria, cultivated mainly in Asia and South America.