Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
were exported every year during the past 10 years with 91 % of the total going to
the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. For the past 10 years, raw
fiber export has been declining at the rate of 2.3 %, but this is offset by an
increasing trend in the domestic consumption and export of manufactured abaca
in the forms of pulp, cordage, and fiber craft.
Sectors of the Abaca Industry
The abaca industry is made up of five major sectors: farming, fiber stripping,
trading, fiber exporting, and processing (Table
12.2
).
1.
Farming Sector
There are more than 77,500 Filipino farmers that grow abaca on about
127,258 ha. An abaca farmer has a small landholding that averages about 2 ha.
The national average production is 850 kg/ha, which is relatively low compared
to the potential of 2,000 kg/ha.
2.
Fiber Stripping Sector
Stripping abaca fibers is done either by hand or mechanical means. About 80 %
of the abaca fibers in the country are hand stripped - practiced mainly in Bicol
and some parts of Leyte and Samar provinces. The remaining 20 % of the fiber is
produced through spindle stripping and is employed principally in Mindanao and
the Leyte provinces. Included in the stripping work are harvesting of stalks and
tuxying and drying of fibers. The fiber strippers are paid either in cash or by
share. Under the sharing system, they receive 50 %, 60 %, or 70 % of the harvest
depending on the prevailing practice agreed upon.
3.
Trading Sector
Trading is done at different levels depending on the location of the farmers and
where the accumulation of fiber is done. Hence, there are traders in the barrio,
town, province, city, and region. In each level, the pricing system includes
markup attributable to the service provided by the trader. There are a total of
617 traders at various levels of trading.
Table 12.2 Summary of abaca industry sectors
Sectors
Number
Farmers
77,500
Traders (licensed)
617
Traders-exporters (licensed)
31
Fiber exporting
Grading and bailing (licensed)
20
Processing
Cordage firms (licensed)
6
Pulp manufacturers (licensed)
6
Fibercraft processors (licensed)
105
Search WWH ::
Custom Search