Philippine abaca output in January to April rose by 10.7 percent year-on-year to 20,655.54 metric tons (MT), as production in Catanduanes—the country’s top producer of the natural fiber—recovered and Mindanao’s output went up.
Latest data released by the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida) showed that abaca production during the four-month period was 1,990.88 MT higher than the 18,664.66 MT recorded last year.
Despite a 1.2-percent contraction, the Bicol region remained as the country’s top producer of the natural fiber as it accounted for 36 percent of total production. Abaca output in the Bicol region fell by 1.2 percent to 7,468.07 MT from 7,561.27 MT last year.
Production in Catanduanes in the January-to-April period went up by 3.6 percent year-on-year. PhilFida data showed that abaca output in Catanduanes reached 5,944.10 MT, which was 203.88 MT higher than last year’s 5,740.22 MT.
PhilFida Executive Director Kennedy T. Costales said abaca production in Catanduanes has “returned to normalcy,” adding that a lot of abaca stalks remained standing in the province despite the onslaught of typhoons last year.
“Salvaging of the abaca stalks to produce fibers started in December last year and peaked by February this year. At present, the abaca farmers are now in their normal mode of harvesting,” Costales told the BusinessMirror.
He said PhilFida released P5 million worth of support to abaca farmers affected by typhoons in Catanduanes last December.
Costales added that farmers have “a lot of time to harvest and sun-dry their fibers” since the January-to-April period marked the start of the dry season.
PhilFida data also showed that regions in Mindanao continued to sustain the expansion in their abaca output.
Abaca production in Northern Mindanao grew by 86.5 percent to 2,389.31 MT from 1,281.18 MT last year. Davao region’s abaca output expanded by 26.8 percent to 4,191.26 MT while production in Caraga rose by 12.2 percent to 2,383.25 MT.
Movement restrictions imposed by the government to stop the spread of Covid-19 coupled with the devastation caused by Typhoon Rolly (international name Goni) pulled down the country’s abaca output last year to a 7-year low.
PhilFida data obtained and analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed that abaca production last year declined by 11.94 percent to 61,491.67 MT from the 69,828.8 MT recorded in 2019. Historical PhilFida data dating back to 1980 showed that this is the lowest abaca output by the country since the 55,958 MT recorded in 2013.
Data also showed that the nationwide production of the natural fiber was below 70,000 MT for the second consecutive year in 2020.
For this year, Costales said the government aims to match the 2019 production level of 69,828.8 MT.
“And we’ll be more than elated if we could produce more than 77,000 MT this year, which will break [production records set in] the past 40 years.”
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