Coir Fiber in Philipines

History/Introduction | Methods of Extraction and Grades | Uses/Applications | Industry Players Production and Market Scenario |Industry Problems | Back to Coir Homepage | Home

Opportunities/Prospects of the Industry

A significant prospect for coir is the growing global concern to address ecological problems through the use of natural materials for environmental protection. Coir nets or geotextiles and bio-logs or fascines, two of the most important products of coir today both here and abroad, have been proven to be effective materials in controlling steep and road slopes erosion and for riverbank protection in technologically advanced countries. Geotextiles are coir-based matting materials placed in sloping lands and embankments to hold soil and permit vegetative growth. It helps in erosion control and soil productivity conservation. Bio-logs or fascines are tubular structures of coir mats or nets filled with dust, peat or coir resembling large rolls or gabions. For the past years, China has become a major market for coir and coir manufactures. The Philippines, however, was and is able to serve only a small fraction of the requirements of the Chinese market. According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), China imported 200,000 mt of coir fiber in 2009 and this is projected to increase by 20 percent annually. Chinas demand for mattresses, of which coir is an essential component in its production, is 100 million pieces yearly. In addition, Chinese demand for geotextiles is pegged at 270,000 square kilometers since its desert areas are expanding at 1.27 percent annually due to sandstorms. Locally, coir geotextiles have gained acceptance as alternative material for soil erosion control and road rehabilitation. Some of the important local projects which made use of geotextiles include the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, the rehabilitation of damaged slopes in Southern Leyte, the construction of cross drain structures in Baguio-Bonto

Production and Market Scenario A. SUPPLY

The Philippines is considered as one of the worlds biggest producers of coconut, yet, production of coir remains very low. This can be attributed to the importance given to the two major products of coconut namely, copra and desiccated coconut, which generate more dollar earnings for the country than coir. Also, the varieties prevalent in the Philippines have bigger kernels which produce less fiber. The global market for coir is dominated by India and Sri Lanka. During the ten-year period beginning 2001, production of coir averaged 6,949 mt with Davao del Sur as the biggest producer, contributing a yearly average of 2,495 mt or 35.9% to the average production. Laguna followed with 1,090 mt or 15.7% share while Davao Oriental ranked third with 1,035 mt or 14.9% contribution. Production during this period grew by 34.9% as the firm demand from the export market drew new entrants to the industry. The opening up of the Chinese market in 2003 was a breakthrough for local suppliers of coir and coir-based products. Several trade agreements were forged between local suppliers and Chinese businessmen triggering the full operation of the existing coir decorticating plants and the opening up of new ones in the countryside. As a result, coir production in 2004 rose to 5,117 mt but slowed down in 2005 to 4,350 mt especially in Mindanao where producers complained of the high transportation cost in bringing the fiber to the ports of loading. Production, however, had been on the uptrend in response to the rising demand of the export market, especially from China. In 2010, production reached 14,940 mt, the highest output recorded during the reference period. B. DEMAND Local Consumption From 2001 to 2010, local consumption averaged 311 mt per year with a peak level of 599 mt in 2010 and a low of 119 mt in 2003. Domestic consumption for the past ten years grew by 2.7%. In the domestic market, coir is being used as a stuffing material for mattresses and upholsteries. It is likewise processed locally into household brushes, doormats, rugs, ropes and twines, coco pads, rubberized coir, panel boards, media for gardening, geotextiles and numerous fibercraft items which are mostly intended for the export market. The geotextiles, mattress and upholstery makers are now the major local users of coir. In the past years, the domestic market absorbed the bulk of available supply of coir. However, since 2002, the situation had reversed as the export market was able to get the majority of the supply. In 2010, local consumption was 599 mt.

Exports For the reference period, exports of coir and manufactures averaged 8,667 mt which grew at a rate of 9.0%, earning for the country an average of US$1.773 million annually. Coir was the highest contributor for the period with an annual average of 3,601 mt or 41.5% share in terms of volume and has also become the biggest earner with US$0.588 million. The Philippine coir industry posted the highest export volume of coir and coir-based products of 13,611 mt in 2007 and the highest export earnings of US$2.54 million in 2006. Coir During the ten-year period, exports of coir averaged 3,601 mt yearly growing at an annual rate of 36.7%. Foreign shipment was highest in 2008 at 5,971 mt while the lowest was recorded in 2002 at 239 mt. Exports early in the period slumped forcing some decorticating plants to close down. However, with the rise in the demand from Taiwan, renewed interest from Hong Kong and the opening of China as a new market, exports bounced back in 2003 and reached its highest in 2008. The strong demand of China for coir during the latter part of the decade made it the biggest market during the ten-year period, importing an annual average of 2,063 mt or 57.3% followed by Taiwan with 28.4% share. The increased coir exports was the result of the several trade agreements forged between Chinese businessmen and local coir producers during the series of trade missions conducted in China. Other importing countries were Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Generally, coir is used as stuffing for mattresses and upholsteries, as raw material for making felt fiberboard for cars in Korea and for nets and bio-logs for erosion control in China. Coir Manufactures Coir manufactures consist of other coir products, carpets, doormats and floor coverings, husk cubes and nets of coir. These new commodity codes were introduced when the Harmonized Code was implemented in 2007. The commodity classifications, processed coir (not spun) and coir waste ceased to exist. Export volume and value of coir manufactures from 2007 to 2010 averaged 413 mt and US$78,398, respectively. Coir Dust Coir dust was exported for the first time in 1992 to Taiwan and Japan. Japan remained the most consistent foreign market although its imports averaged only

169 mt per year during the period under review. South Korea emerged as the top market with annual average imports of 768 mt. From 2001 to 2010, foreign shipment of coir dust averaged 2,016 mt. Most of the Asian importing countries use coir dust and peat for animal beddings, fertilizer and as water holding agent. Industry Players Coconut is grown in almost all parts of the country. At present, nearly 30% of the countrys total agricultural land is planted with coconut. Coconut plantations are dispersed accordingly, in Luzon 23.0%, Visayas 17.4% and Mindanao 59.6%. Sixty-nine out of 79 provinces are coconut producing areas. Coir production was concentrated mainly in Laguna, Quezon and Albay but due to the high export demand in recent years, it expanded to the Mindanao and Visayas provinces such as Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Sarangani, Compostela Valley, Leyte, Samar and Aklan.

In 2010, there were 20 grading and baling establishments (GBEs) licensed to operate nationwide. These GBEs are the decorticators/producers of coir which source their husk requirements from coconut farmers within their areas of operations or nearby provinces. Most of the GBEs are exporters of coir but some are also engaged in the processing of the fiber into finished products. Currently, there are also four local traders, 11 traderexporters and four processors converting coir into geotextiles, logs, coco pads and a host of fibercraft items intended for both the local and international markets.

History/Introduction
Coir is obtained from the husk of the coconut (Cocos nucifera), a perennial plant found in tropical countries. Native to the islands of the Indian Ocean where the fiber had been used extensively for cordage, coir was the first hard fiber introduced to European rope makers. In the Philippines, records indicated that the country had been producing coir, particularly in Pangasinan as far back as the 19th century. The traditional retting method of fiber extraction was used wherein the husks were soaked in streams for 8 to 12 months and the fibers were extracted manually by pounding them with mallets against slabs of wood. After drying, the fibers were made into ropes or twines for fishing and farming purposes.

The development of the Philippine coir industry started prior to World War II when the National Coconut Corporation (NACOCO), now the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), experimented on mechanized coir extraction. Shortly after the war, Martiniano Floro developed the first defibering plant in Alaminos, Laguna, which produced bristle and mattress fibers. Thereafter, a number of home industries were established in Laguna and Rizal for manufacturing brushes, doormats, bags and sacks, fishnets, ropes and twines. Simultaneous with the increase in the local demand, the exports of coir to Germany and Japan commenced. The opening up of other defibering plants followed in the late 50s to the 70s. The Laguna Coco-By-Products, later named as Coirflex Philippines, became operational and pioneered in integrating coir defibering, spinning to rubberizing of coir mats for mattress/bedding purposes. The company ceased operation in the 80s due to various factors. Today, with the establishment of coir decorticating and processing plants, products of various applications have been developed for both the foreign and domestic markets.

Industry Problems

High international and local shipping rates as well as domestic transport cost (farm to processing sites); High labor and power costs; Unstable/limited supply of coconut husks; High cost of equipment; High concentration of decorticating plants in one area resulting to heavy competition for the supply as well as price war for husks; and Strong competition with major coir producers and exporters, India and Sri Lanka and lately, Vietnam and Thailand.

Methods of Extraction and Grades In the Philippines, husk defibering is mechanized which involves two processes: the wet and the dry milling operations. In the wet milling process, the coconut husks are crushed between fluted rollers called husk crushers before they are soaked in the retting pond for a minimum of 72 hours in order to facilitate the penetration of water through the exocarp. After soaking, the fibers are extracted through specially constructed machines called drums. Mature coconut husks are usually processed through this method. The dry milling method, on the other hand, utilizes a special machine called down decorticator. The husk segment is disintegrated by the use of metal beater

bars revolving at high speed followed by the use of sifters to separate the nonfibrous matter from the fiber. It is considered the most efficient method of extracting coir and is especially convenient in areas where soaking facilities are limited or are not available. There are three main types of coir, namely: mat or yarn fiber, bristle fiber and mattress fiber. The mat or yarn fiber is usually known as the white fiber which is extracted manually from the retted husks of green coconut. The bristle fiber and mattress fiber, the two categories of brown fiber, are extracted from the husks of a mature coconut and are generally produced in the Philippines. Bristle fibers are the fibers left after the combing process with length of not less than 5 inches. On the other hand, the mattress fibers are the shorter fibers combed down after sifting the dust with length of not less than 2 inches. The grades of coir are determined by three qualities: strength, cleaning and color. The standard grades of coir are the following: Name Letter of Designation Grade CH-1 Coir Good Coir Fair Coir Mixed

Description Fiber (bristle) is of good cleaning, with little or no pulp content; color is light brown to almost dark brown; length is not less than 5 inches Fiber (bristle) is of fair cleaning; fibers are stuck together and considerable pulps are present; color ranges from dull brown to dark brown or black; length is not less than 5 inches. Mixture of bristle and mattress fibers, generally crumpled and tangled; of good and fair cleaning, must be free from coir dust and hard, undefibered portion of the husk; color ranges from light brown to dull brown.

CH-2

CH-3

CH-4 CH-W

Consists mostly of short crumpled fibers with an average Coir length of not less than inches; must be free from coir Mattress dust and hard, undefibered husk. Coir Waste Consists of coir dust and fiber not fitted in any regular grades of coir, with length of less than 2 inches long.

Uses/Applications Bristle fiber is made into brush, air filters, humidifier pads, evaporative cooler pads, automotive breathers, pollution control parts and attic ventilation pads. Once produced as rope and twine, it is made into carpets, rugs, doormats, bags, sacks, fishnets and other fibercraft items.

Mattress fiber is widely used as padding material for bed mattresses, furniture and upholsteries and for car seats and automotive breathers. It is also utilized as insulation material, caulking material for boats, filtration pads and briquettes, filtering materials for drainage, wallboards and panel boards for homes and highrise buildings. Rubberized coir sheet is suitable for packaging scientific, electronic and other delicate equipments and products that require excellent protection and safety. Coir is likewise used in horticultural purposes as it is made into plant liners, pots, plant pads, containers for growing various kinds of outdoor and indoor plants and other garden products. In recent developments in biotechnologies, coir geotextiles or coconets and bio-logs (also called coco fiber rolls or fascines) are now widely used for soil erosion control, slope protection and land stabilization by both private and government projects. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is now using coir geotextiles instead of concrete materials because it is cheaper, durable and biodegradable. coir fiber Coir dust or coco peat, a residual powder-like particle produced from the extraction of coir has gained economic importance. While coir dust used to be a major problem for disposal by decorticating plants because of the volume involved and for environmental consideration, it is now exported and used as substitute for peat moss, soil mulching, soil conditioner, animal bedding, manure composting and for other agricultural purposes.