Producers cut Q1 abaca fiber output on low prices

Low prices of abaca fiber discouraged producers from selling more of the commodity that the industry output dropped by 17.8 percent to 102,417.6 bales ─ at 125 kilograms per bale ─ in the first quarter of the year, said the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA). Latest data showed that only the Zamboanga Peninsula registered positive growth in abaca fiber production among country’s abaca-producing provinces. Bicol province, the country’s major producer of abaca fiber, registered a 7.4-percent drop in output to 39,140.7 bales in the first three months of the year. The region accounted for 38.2 percent of total production during the period. "Price is still low. This discouraged farmers because they were used to getting premium price for their produce, FIDA said in its report. "High grade abaca currently fetches P50 per kilo. In 2008, prices went as high as P90 per kilo," said FIDA supervising statistician Mystic Pelayo. Pelayo said it was tight supply that pushed prices to P90 per kilo in 2008. Bicol and other major abaca-producing provinces were still reeling from the damage caused by typhoons Reming and Milenyo on abaca plantations in 2006, Pelayo said. In Eastern Visayas, production went down by 21.9 percent at 26,856 bales. The region accounted for 26.2 percent of abaca fiber output in the first quarter. Still, abaca exports grew by 308 percent to 23,085.4 bales as global demand started to pick up in the first quarter, particularly from the UK and Japan. Exports to the UK jumped by 500 percent to 12,965 bales, from the 2,160 bales registered in the first quarter of 2009, FIDA records showed. Shipments to Japan increased by 316.9 percent to 6,579 bales. Exports to the UK were 56.2 percent of total abaca fiber shipments during the period, while shipments to Japan were 28.5 percent of total Philippine exports of the commodity. Abaca is a versatile fiber used as raw material in textile manufacturing and rope making. It is also mixed with silk, piña, or polyester in producing high-end fabrics and expensive handmade paper. —VS, GMANews.TV