abaca, abaca industry, extraction of abaca fiber, abaca-producing provinces, cash crops, Philippine agriculture, uses of abaca fiber
Introduction -
Abaca is not only the most important fiber, but also the most important export product, of the Philippines. For a number of years this fiber comprised approximately two-thirds of the total export trade of the Islands (=Philippines). The recent increase in the production of copra and sugar has reduced in a measure its relative importance, but it still remains our leading export product.
Abaca is the premier cordage fiber of the world. It is a structural (hard) fiber obtained from the outer layers of the overlapping leaf sheaths which form the stalks of the abaca plant. It is very light, strong, and durable. When properly extracted and dried, it is also of a white, lustrous color. One particular feature of the abaca fiber which emphasizes its superiority over all other fibers of its class is its great strength and its resistance to the action of water, hence its particular adaptability for marine ropes.
In the commercial world this fiber is known as
"
manila hemp
"
or
"
manila.
"
It is often called
"
hemp,
"
especially locally by the English-speaking community, but this term is both incorrect and misleading, and its use should be discontinued in favor of the Spanish-Filipino term
"
abaca.
"
History of the industry -
The first authentic account of the use of either abaca or banana fiber in the Philippines is that given by an Englishman, Dampier (=
William Dampier
), who lived in Mindanao in 1686. This writer describes the
"
banana textoria,
"
both as an edible
Abaca (Manila Hemp) in the Philippines
(Musa Textilis)
