Industry Insiders See More Potential Uses of Abaca

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 4 (PNA) - Apart from fiber, pulp, cordage, ropes, twines, yarns, fabrics and handicrafts, industry insiders see more potential uses of abaca especially in the construction industry, currency notes and miscellaneous items like wigs.

In the construction industry, abaca could be included in the components of floor tiles, hollow blocks, fiberboard, reinforcement of concrete and asphalt, according to the National Abaca Research Center (NARC).

With the combined research and development being initiated, the opportunity for abaca to be used as principal material in countries' currency notes is also getting bigger, the NARC said.

In fact, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had been using abaca on Philippine bank notes since 2001. "Our P100, P500 and P1,000 bills now in circulation are with 20 percent abaca contents," it said in a statement.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said they would much prefer to print money on cotton material fortified with abaca strands than invest in more expensive technology based on polymer. He said the central bank of Thailand had problems with polymer-based baht bills as they wrinkle and wither in the tropical sun.

"Polymer technology is also more expensive. Besides, we made a commitment to help support the local abaca industry," Tetangco said.

In laboratory tests on the feasibility of using abaca on Philippine bank notes, Deputy BSP Governor Armando Suratos, who heads the BSP's Security Printing Plant in Quezon City, said the 90-10 cotton-abaca blend exhibited the best physio-chemical properties and printing quality.

The 80-20 blend however was preferred as the resulting paper bills are stronger than the old paper offsetting the five percent increase in production cost, Suratos said, adding that the abaca blend also protects the industry from the proliferation of counterfeit bills because the fiber is not readily available.

The use of abaca on the country's currency bills had created an additional demand of at least 200 metric tons of pulp per year, he added.

Abaca (Musa textilis Nee) is a versatile plant and the Philippines is its leading producer supplying 97 percent of the world's need for its products. Known as the Manila hemp worldwide, the abaca looks like the banana plant but its fruits are inedible. However, its strong leaf sheaths compensate for its being a non-food crop. Abaca is made into ropes, twines, marine cordage, tea bags, filter paper, mimeograph stencil, sausage skin, cigarette paper, file folders, x-ray negative, medical gas masks, diapers, bed sheets, stationeries, bags, hammocks, hand woven fabrics, wire insulators, wire cables, and currency paper.

The growing awareness and interest in it for decorative, fashion and wrapping purposes also creates large demand for abaca in its major markets in Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the Netherlands.

The United States remains as the biggest market for Philippine abaca cordage while Japan and Germany absorbed the bulk of abaca pulp exports during the past ten years. Increasing quantities of pulp are also being marketed to the US as well as the European and Asian countries like France, Taiwan, Korea and China.

The major markets for fiber crafts include the US, Germany, Japan, and Australia.

The country produces an average of 64,205 metric tons per year from its total abaca area of 106,146 hectares cultivated by 63,030 farmers. (PNA)