What is the importance of abaca fiber in the Philippine industry?
Aside from its various uses and its superior strength, the Abaca fiber helps meet the growing demand for environment-friendly material, being a natural fiber. Waste materials from Abaca are useful, too, as fertilizer.
What is the use of abaca in the Philippines?
Uses of abaca
During the 19th century abaca was widely used for ships’ rigging, and pulped to make sturdy manila envelopes. Today, it is still used to make ropes, twines, fishing lines and nets, as well as coarse cloth for sacking.
What is the current status of abaca industry in the country today?
The Philippines dominates the global abaca trade as the country supplies about 87.5 percent of the world’s abaca fiber requirements and Ecuador and Costa Rica the remaining 12.5 percent as of 2016. In 2016, abaca was planted on 180,302 hectares (ha) with production reaching 72,000 metric tons (MT).
Where does Philippines export abaca?
Philippine abaca products are sold to Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and the US, among others. Abaca remains one of the top agricultural commodities of the country. The Philippines supplies more than three fourths of the world’s total abaca fiber demand.
What are some economic importance of abaca industry in the Philippines?
For the past half-decade, the Abaca industry helped boost the country`s economy from its export earnings with an annual average of P4. 7 billion. Mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao Islands, Abaca fibers are cultivated across 176,549 hectares of farmlands by over 122,758 farmers.
When was abaca introduced in the Philippines?
The earliest account on the use of abaca was written by Pigafetta, the Spanish chronicler of the historic voyage of Magellan to the Philippines in 1521. According to his writings, indigenous Filipinos had already been wearing clothes made of abaca fiber when the Spaniards arrived on Philippine shores.
Is there any future for the abaca production?
The overall assessment of the industry shows that despite esternal threats and internal difficulties, there are very good prospects for the abaca industry e.g. the abaca pulp as substitute for coniferous pulp in most paper and specialty paper products, the fiber craft sector, abaca fabrics for decor and wrapping …
What is the current agricultural export of the Philippines?
Of the total agricultural exports, the top Philippine agricultural exports include Coconut oil, Bananas, Pineapple and Pineapple products, Mango, Shrimps and Prawns, and Tuna. (Table 3) These agricultural exports comprised 71% of the total agricultural exports of the country.
What are the problems that farmers face in the Philippines?
Long standing challenges that hamper productivity include limited access to credit and agricultural insurance, low farm mechanization and inadequate postharvest facilities, inadequate irrigation, scant support for research and development (R&D), weak extension service, incomplete agrarian reform program implementation, …