Hope Springs Eternal for the Abaca Industry
PCHI’s Dennis Orlina expounds on the great demand and opportunities facing our abaca industry.
The abaca fiber’s tensile strength is once more tested not only as an indigenous plant but also as a challenged industry which, of late, has been threatened by serious diseases and the supply and demand chain rigmarole. Industry insiders say three main diseases, the abaca bunchy top, abaca mosaic and abaca bract mosaic continue to wreak havoc on thousands of hectares of abaca plantations: In Samar and Leyte alone, around 26,000 hectares of land planted to abaca are reportedly affected by these diseases.
But despite these threats, the demand for our country’s premiere fiber (known worldwide as Manila hemp) continues to escalate. In fact, several industry players say even the Russians are dead serious in scouring farmlands as far as Mindanao in search of our superior abaca fiber. This is so because aside from the traditional cordage, our abaca fiber has become an important material in the manufacture of pulp and paper and used in several allied industries.
The Philippines still supplies around 85% of the world demand for abaca fiber, the rest is supplied by Ecuador. Agriculturists say our agroclimatic conditions (particularly our rich volcanic soil and tropical weather) are perfect to grow this plant, which many people still mistake for banana plant.
In the recent interview with Mr. Dennis Orlina, the Board Secretariat Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Handicrafts Industries (PCHI), Inc., who is also an abaca exporter. Orlina has been involved in the abaca industry for a nearly a decade now and works hand in hand with the people in the Department of Agriculture’s Fiber and Industry Development Authority (DA-FIDA) in order to heighten people’s consciousness on the importance of further developing the abaca industry, especially in this beleaguered and challenging times.
Excerpts:
What is the prevailing price of abaca fiber right now?
According to FIDA, it’s about Php4- to Php48 per kilo. But the black market price right now reached between Php70 and Php90 per kilo. We were recently told that there is a shortage of fiber, too in the Philippines. last year, our ball park estimate is that we were exporting at least 40-ft container of abaca fiber every month. That’s around 80 tons of abaca fiber.
You said three major diseases are slowly wiping out our abaca plantations. What are we doing about the situation?
FIDA is doing its best to control and eradicate the disease. However, in spite of the massive information drive, FIDA has a limited budget. Treating the diseases is expensive. In Leyte alone, there were some councilors approaching us and asking for some Php9.5 M to treat the diseases, but we don’t have that much funds. It’s something that we can manage as long as the agency handling it gets support from the private sector.
How are the farmers coping?
You know what the farmers do now? They don’t care much about the abaca fiber anymore, because making it takes a long time to do. They just cut out the entire tree, take out the leaf sheaths and sell it. In local parlance, it’s called the “bakbak.” They sell it for Php20 to Php25 per kilo, landed Manila. For them, it’s better than processing the plant into fiber and selling it at Php40 per kilo.
Why do you say there is a bigger demand for abaca in the coming years?
Because the raw materials are very viable. The whole world is looking for sustainable materials. We’re living in an environment conscious society so everyone wants to preserve something. India is already using abaca as part of their denims. If they buy from us, I don’t know how far the exports can go. Our biggest buyers now are US and Japan. And mind you, 40% of the Japanese yen is made from abaca. While we were importing paper for our currency, the Japanese has already been using abaca for their yen. But right now, our Central Bank is already using 20% abaca for our 200, 500 and 1,000 peso bills.
What about China?
Yes, of course. In China, you have 1.3 billion people drinking tea. And the teabags are made from abaca. Food casing for sausages and other food products are also made from abaca, so you could just imagine the demand! A lot for these sausage producing countries on the Fastern European eluded in the CARP exemp block are already buying abacation. from us.
Let’s talk about the bottom line: is there money in abaca?
You know, there’s lots of money in abaca. If you plant now, the gestation period takes only one year and a half up to two years. And one thing good about the abaca is that you only plant it twice. It regenerates. You have one big tree and you have five others growing along the side and it starts a big chain. It’s just the way it is. One time planting, two years gestation, and you have money already. The money is in the plant itself because it’s just like coconut, you don’t waste anything-from the leaf to the roots, and every part can translate to money.
How organized are the people in the abaca industry?
You know, we’re a deeply rooted industry because we trace back to the Spanish regime. So we’re organized. But we’re losing on the farmer level because if I were a landowner, I would worry about planting abaca in my land because the feeling is the government would just take it away because of the CARP. That’s why we’re proposing that this be included in the CARP exemption.
What about the problem regarding the abaca supply chain?
Sadly, we have not really taken care of our supply chain very much. We still lack the basic infrastructure. We’re number two to Japan in terms of power cost. Our freight cost is also very expensive. To export abaca fiber, the minimum requirement is a one container load of abaca fiber, and that roughly translates to a Php28,000 freight cost.
What is your advice to the abaca farmers?
They have to protect, love and make the most out of their plants. They should convince people to be part of this abaca planting mentality. We are telling you, the demand for abaca is not a perceived one. It is here. The market is here. Chinese businessmen are now sourcing in Visayas and Mindanao and they are buying abaca by the container loads. But we have to work on re-plantation and the eradication of these diseases. But if you’re asking about making money from abaca, believe me, I have seen some farmers buying pajeros after selling their fibers.
Total abaca plantation hectarage: (2006) 141, 711 hectares
Average production (1997-2006) : 68,819 MT
Total production (2006) : 66,471 MT
Industry Sectors:
Farmers: 89,071
Traders (licensed) : 617
Trader-Exporters (licensed) : 31
GBEs (licensed) : 20
Cordage firms (licensed) : 6
Pulp manufacturers (licensed) : 6
Fibercraft processors (licensed) : 105
Major Producing Provinces
Abaca is grown in 48 provinces with the following as the top 10 producers: Catanduanes, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, Davao Oriental, Surigao del Sur, Davao del Sur, Sulu, Sorsogon, Western Samar.
