Abaca exports up 60.6% in 1st qtr

MANILA, Philippines - Export earnings from abaca fiber and other manufactures rose 60.6 percent in the first quarter of the year on increased demand for abaca pulp, the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) reported yesterday.

Aggregate export earnings from abaca products rose to $33.94 million from $21.14 million in the same period last year amid robust demand from the United States, United Kingdom and China.

Export earnings from pulp almost doubled to $25.8 million in the first three months of the year from $14.2 million in the same period last year on increased demand from the US, Germany, UK, France, Japan and China,

Earnings from raw fiber, likewise, rose to $2.6 million from $1.5 million as demand picked up in UK, Japan, Indonesia and China.

Earnings from fiber crafts also rose to $2.5 million from $2.1 million.

Export earnings from cordage and raw fiber, however, fell to $2.6 million and $425,354, respectively from $2.8 million and $621,702 on lower demand from buyers in Asia and Europe.

Raw abaca fiber is processed into pulp, which, in turn, is used to make tea bags, surgical masks, sausage cases and coffee filters among other products.

Philippine abaca fiber and other manufactures are sold to countries like the US, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, China, Taiwan and South Korea among others.

Abaca is one of the country’s top industrial crops along with coconut, rubber, tobacco and sugar.