Carrageenan carrageenan were estimated at $640 million. The largest producer of industrial carrageenan was the Philippines, where cultivated seaweed produces about 80% of the world supply, while China is the main exporter to global markets in the US and Europe. The most commonly used sources are "E. cottonii" ("Kappaphycus alvarezii", "K. striatum") and "E. spinosum" ("Eucheuma denticulatum"), which together provide about three-quarters of the world production. These grow from the sea surface to a depth of about 2 metres. The seaweed is normally grown on nylon lines strung between bamboo floats, and it is harvested after three months or so, when
Purple soft coral Purple soft coral The purple soft coral ("Alcyonium fauri") is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. Purple soft corals grow in small colonies of up to 3 cm in height. The diameter of the individual polyps is 0.4 cm. They are usually bright purple, although they may be yellow, pink, red, dark grey or orange. The soft colony is encrusting and variably shaped. Feeding polyps extend eight tentacles into the water column. This species is known from Saldanha Bay to Richards Bay off the South African coast, and lives from the low intertidal to 90m under