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Banana stalk, particularly the pseudostem, is a rich source of silk grade fiber. This 'waste' product, which used to rot on the plantation, has presently a good demand for raw materials among textile factories in Japan - as high as five tons per month.
2012 had been a tough year for banana growers in Sto. Thomas. First, the tightened Chinese quarantine issues that hindered exporters to enter the ports at Shanghai, and the bad weather conditions, especially the typhoon Pablo a few weeks before Christmas.
Banana growers have looked into diversifying markets and making new products to make the industry less vulnerable to shocks,” said Melani Provido of the Department of Agriculture-High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP).
According to Elmer Degorio, municipal agriculture officer said it took some time for the Marsman Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (MARBCo) to see the lucrativity of banana fiber since it was called to be a “hard sell” as the banana export itself was more profitable. First, the production of fiber did not come easy at the initial produce turned out to be of mediocre quality. "This was attributed to the lack of grading of raw materials as our strippers then just insert any kind of pseudostem,” MARBCo board of director Andrew Amido said.
After several tries, the MARBCo was able to produce quality fiber that meets Japanese standards.
They are producing DB1 (whitish in color) or the first class and DB2 (reddish) which is the second class quality.
Based on their records, MARBCo had its first shipment of banana fiber to Japan in May 2012 with 3,000 kilos at USD3.00 per kilo, followed by another shipment of 4,000 kilos in August; in November with 4,426.50 kilos; and 4,116.50 kilos in February this 2013.
In just less than a year, MARBCo was able to export a total of 15,543 kilos, grossing around P1.8 million.
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