MANILA, Philippines - Export earnings from abaca fiber and other manufactures fell 7.5 percent in the first five months of the year on weak demand for abaca pulp, cordage, fibercrafts and raw fiber.
Data from the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) showed that export earnings from January to May fell to $54.86 million from $59.28 million in the same period in 2011.
Exports of pulp, which had a 75.7 percent share in abaca exports, fell three percent in the first five months of the year with earnings of $41.51 million from $42.78 million in the same period last year.
Exports of cordage, which had a share of 12.3 percent, fell 4.2 percent to $6.73 million from $7.02 million last year.
Export earnings of fibercrafts which had a share of 6.4 percent fell 2.5 percent to $3.5 million this year from $3.59 million last year.
Export earnings from raw fiber, which had a 4.5 percent share in abaca exports, fell sharply by 55.4 percent to $2.48 million from $ 5.56 million last year.
Export earnings from abaca fabric, however, rose 98.1 percent to $ 638,299 from $322,192 in the same period last year. The segment had a share of 1.2 percent in total abaca fiber exports.
The country’s export earnings from abaca reached $140.3 million last year, up from $104.5 million in 2010.
Abaca is a material used for making tea bags, casing of meat sausages, surgical masks and cigarette paper.
Philippines abaca products are sold to countries like the US, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, China, Taiwan and South Korea, among others.