Nori (Japanese: 海苔) (Chinese: 海苔; pinyin: hǎitāi, Korean: 김, kim or gim) is the Japanese name for various eible seaweed species of the red alga Porphyra including most notably P. yezoensis and P. tenera, sometimes called laver . The term nori is also commonly used to refer to the food products created from these "sea vegetables", similar to the Korean gim. Finished products are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. Japan, Korea, and China are the current major producers of nori, with total production valued at up to US $2 billion per year.