Praia, Cape Verde, 12 Jan – The Cape Verdean government plans this year to set up on the archipelago a pilot unit for seaweed production to extract beta-carotene, a substance used, for example, as a food colouring, the secretary of state for Marine Resources said in Praia.

Speaking to Cape Verdean news agency Inforpress, Adalberto Vieira said that technicians from a company partnering the University of Algarve (Portugal) would travel to Cape Verde in two month’s time to help set up the pilot unit.

According to the secretary of state, the units are relatively simple and have “extremely low” set up costs, of around 20 million Cape Verdean escudos, which are appropriate for conditions in the country and can, for example, be installed near desalination plants.

The project is expected to set the country up as a beta-carotene producer and perhaps a producer of other seaweeds that can be used in cosmetics. (macauhub)