Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
for the fashion industry and composite fibers used in luxury automobile upholstery.
Philippine fashion designers sell intricately embroidered “barong” shirts made of
abaca “sinamay.” The Japanese also know it as “makiwara” - the rope tied around
posts used in martial arts practice. Its superior tensile and folding strength and high
porosity also make it especially suitable for currency papers (the Philippine peso
bills have 20 % content, while the Japanese yen has 70 % content), furnitures, home
d
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cors, textiles, cosmetics, cigarette papers, surgical masks, sausage casings, tea
bags, coffee filters, and others.
In 2007, the Philippines produced 60,000 MT of abaca fiber, while Ecuador
produced 10,000 MT. Exports from the Philippines, where 85 % of world supply
comes from, are mostly pulp rather than raw fiber. The county generates about US
$76.8 million a year from exports of raw fibers, pulp, cordage, and fiber crafts. Only
the Philippines (where it is a small farmer's crop) and Ecuador (where it is grown
on large estates) supply the world market. Indonesia is a small producer, but it is
currently expanding its abaca hectarage.
In 2004, the price of abaca fiber reached an average of US$0.71 (about
40) per
kilogram of which US$0.39 or 56 % went to farmers. Abaca farmers produce
78,000 MT a year valued at over US$0.10 billion. By 2020 - when farms expand
an additional 32,600 ha - abaca fiber production should reach 152,000 MT. Fiber
yield is expected to increase from 565 kg per hectare per year to 900 kg per hectare.
This requires an investment of US$5.93 million during the first 5 years. The cost of
establishing a low-level technology abaca farm is US$524.02 per ha. Abaca, which
matures in 18-24 months, can be harvested three times a year. Abaca extraction is
80 % manual and only 1 % of the fiber is recovered. Simple technology innovations
like a portable stripping machine that costs about US$806.02 can increase fiber
extraction by 3 %.
Abaca fiber ranks ninth among the Philippine major agricultural exports - after
coconut oil, banana, pineapple, tuna, shrimps, tobacco, and desiccated coconut.
Besides fiber, abaca pulp and cordage are exported to the United Kingdom, Japan,
and the United States. For pulp, Germany is the main market followed by Japan and
the United Kingdom. Principal buyers of cordage are the United States, Singapore,
and Canada. Foreign exchange earnings from the export of abaca had been declin-
ing at 2.8 % each year from 1995 to 2004. Except for abaca pulp which had been
increasing at 2.6 % per year, the Philippine foreign exchange earnings from the rest
- raw fiber, cordage and yarns, and fabrics and fiber crafts - have declined.
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Abaca Market Flow
From the producer/farmer/fiber stripper, the abaca fiber was sold at an “all-in” basis
and ungraded to the “barangay” (village) dealer. The fiber then goes to the town/
city dealers. To some extent the farmers sell directly to exporters/grading and
baling establishments (GBEs). In some cases, farmers' cooperatives/associations
have a direct link to domestic processors.
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