The country’s abaca industry shrugged off the devastation caused by Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) as production grew by almost 10 percent in the previous year.
Data from the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida) showed that abaca output from January to December 2021 reached 67,488.11 metric tons, 9.8 percent higher than the 61,491.66 MT in the same period a year ago.
“After the visit of Typhoon Odette affecting six regions along its devastating path in mid-December, [abaca production] finally settled [at] a modest increase at the end of 2021,” said PhilFida executive director Kennedy Costales in a statement.
The same PhilFida data indicated that seven regions, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao, expanded their abaca production, with five of them registering double-digit growth.
Northern Mindanao posted the biggest gain as production expanded by 72.6 percent to 8,243.28 MT from 4,775.63 MT year-on-year.
Eastern Visayas came in second with a 44-percent increment as output climbed to 4,768.32 MT from 3,312.19 MT.
Western Visayas produced 3,762.95 MT of abaca last year, up by 41.3 percent from 2,662.85 MT.
Abaca production in Central Visayas during the period surged by 32.2 percent to 311.80 MT from 235.84 MT. The Davao region’s output rose by 13.4 percent to 14,618.29 MT from 12,894.50 MT.
The regions of Caraga and the Zamboanga peninsula saw their abaca production inch by 3.9 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
Costales said the Bicol region, whose national average percentage production share stood at 37.46 percent over the past 10 years, is on the downward trend.
In 2021 alone, the region’s abaca output declined by 9.6 percent to 19,838.70 MT from 21,346.22 MT.
“If this downtrend will continue, abaca fiber production in the Bicol region will disappear in 6-7 years’ time,” he said.
Meanwhile, PhilFida reported the top abaca producing provinces include Catanduanes, Davao Oriental, Bukidnon, Surigao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Aklan, Agusan del Sur, Albay, Northern Samar and Lanao del Sur.