17 January 2007
LEGAZPI CITY—A 50-percent supply gap of abaca fiber (Manila hemp) in the Bicol Region, the second largest supplier in the country, is seen to happen starting March this year as a result of the P201-million damage to at least 65 percent of abaca in Bicol by Supertyphoon “Reming,” a fiber industry official here said yesterday.
Fiber loss in Bicol is estimated at 10,059 metric tons (MT) out of the total 20,212 MT, said Dr. Editha Lomeria, acting regional director of the Fiber Industry Development Authority (Fida).
However, 90 percent of this total loss is recoverable within a month since fiber could be stripped even from toppled trees.
The recoverable fiber from damaged trees cost P20 million, reducing the P201-million damage to a P181-million loss.
A total of 9,058 MT of fiber is expected to be recovered and will suffice raw fiber demands for the first quarter of this year, Lomeria said.
Areas planted to abaca in Albay, Catanduanes, and Camarines Sur were the most heavily damaged, reaching 73-90 percent or 28,747 ha.
Camarines Norte and Sorsogon only incurred slight damages of 1,022 ha planted to abaca.
These two provinces, said Lomerio, would be able to help bridge the supply gap in the succeeding quarters of the year while Leyte, a province in the Eastern Visayas region and the country’s top abaca producer, would be the region’s main temporary supplier of its fiber needs.
The average local consumption of abaca fiber in the region for pulp, cordage and fibercraft was 9,260 MT from 2001 to 2005.
Three of the biggest industry players in the region—Isarog Pulp, Inc. in Daraga, Albay, Albay Agro-industrial Development Corp. (Alindeco) in Malinao, Albay and Pacific Cordage Co.—have all incurred damages to their facilities, leading to a temporary halt of their operations, Lomerio said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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