From 25 to 26 May Pordenone Fiere opens its doors to AlgaeFarm 2022, a new event dedicated to technologies and applications in algae farming. The event will take place simultaneously with AquaFarm 2022 www.aquafarmexpo.it and NovelFarm 2022 and is organized in collaboration with the Italian Association for the Study and Applications of Microalgae.
AquaFarm is the international exhibition-conference dedicated to aquaculture and sustainable fishing industry. NovelFarm is the most important Italian event entirely dedicated to new cultivation techniques, soilless and vertical farming.
The appointment with AlgaeFarm 2022 www.novelfarmexpo.it will be an opportunity to present the best professionals dedicated to the algiculture sector, creating an opportunity for discussion on a continuously growing sector.
“AlgaeFarm arrives at the right time in the evolution of the European and world market – said Alberto Bertucco, president of Aisam -. And we are grateful to Pordenone Fiere which for the past 5 years has been offering the sector an important opportunity to meet “.
AlgaeFarm 2022: a rapidly growing sector
According to the California-based StrategyR, the two most important algal species at the moment, spirulina (49%) and chlorella (29.4%), are driving the growth of this sector for their use in foods and nutraceuticals that are purchased for their value of strengthening the body’s defenses. An effect deriving from the pandemic and which was already felt in the second half of 2020 and in 2021.
In Italy, the demand for dried microalgae is around 200 tons for uses ranging from food to nutraceuticals, cosmetics and pharmacopoeia to fish feed. Less than 13% of the demand is currently satisfied by domestic production. Three quarters of this production is concentrated on spirulina and headed by a dozen companies that focus on organic certification, due to the high quality required by our market.
AlgaeFarm 2022: potential
Competition is very strong above all due to “certified organic” spirulina from India, China and South-East Asia which boasts prices that are one third of the European one.
However, the market potential remains very high and interesting.
If you look beyond dried biomass, which can be defined as the zero degree of use of microalgae, and focus on other substances obtainable from fresh biomass (therefore not exposed to Asian competition), it turns out that market prices rise very quickly. .
Fatty acids, including omega-3s, sprout between $ 200 and $ 600 per kg, while for fucoxanthin, a powerful anti-inflammatory, you get to $ 45,000 per kg.