Vietnamese banana fiber and the expectation to conquer the billion-dollar market
After harvesting, the banana stem is collected and processed into fiber products, and the residue and water after separation will be processed into organic fertilizer. Taking advantage of agricultural wastes to produce environmentally friendly products, Khai Thai agricultural service and trade cooperative (Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi) not only creates jobs for people but also guides to conquer the billion-dollar market from this item.
The handshake of businesses, cooperatives and farmers
In the early days of July 2020, when Vietnam has transitioned to a new normal, Khai Thai commune has become more bustling because besides farm work, people in the commune have a side job – producing yarn from bamboo. banana stem.
After the banana tree is harvested, the banana stem is collected, halved, peeled and put into the fiber press. Banana fibers are sorted and put on a rig, dried, then bundled and fed to a spinning machine. Raw banana fiber can be used to make a variety of products such as handicrafts, paper of all kinds, to high-grade materials in the automotive industry, yachts … with great added value.
Vietnamese banana fiber and the expectation to conquer the billion-dollar market
For many crafts, the use of chemicals is inevitable. But for the production of banana fiber, absolutely not. In charge of the spinning process, Ms. Nguyen Hong Thanh (Khai Thai commune) said that every day of hard work will give you an income of 150,000 – 160,000 VND. “In the past, banana stalks were mainly used as pig feed, but when the African swine fever epidemic caused difficulties in livestock production, the banana stem was discarded. Now that the banana stem is fully utilized, not only does it reduce environmental pollution, the people here have more jobs and income, so they are very excited,” said Nguyen Hong Thanh.
Grasping the trend of sustainable and environmentally friendly development is the inevitable direction of global manufacturing industries, along with the desire to have more jobs for farmers in Khai Thai commune, November 2019. Mr. Nguyen Duc Tuan and some relatives established Khai Thai trade and service cooperative. This is also the first cooperative in Vietnam to produce fiber from banana stem.
Peel the bananas before putting them into the fiber press
Nguyen Duc Tuan – Chairman of Khai Thai Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative – said that banana trees have long been associated with the Khai Thai people. Easy to grow, easy to find and in the process of learning, Mr. Tuan realized that this is a product with potential for development because it can make the most of and optimize the by-products of the banana industry. “The trend of the world in general and Vietnam in particular is towards sustainable development, being environmentally friendly and limiting the use of plastic, which is a fertile ground for banana fiber products to come to the world. market”, said Mr. Nguyen Duc Tuan.
Starting from the idea, Khai Thai cooperative also shook hands with GMF Precision Mechanic Company and Musa Pacta One Member Co., Ltd. to sign a cooperation contract and jointly research and develop equipment for the banana fiber industry in Vietnam. Vietnam. From this cooperation, GMF and Musa Pacta have respectively introduced to the market a series of machines for the banana fiber industry such as: banana fiber stripper, banana peeler, pulp press, mold press machine. Plant pots from bananas, fiber cleaning machines… Musa Pacta One Member Co., Ltd. will cover the output of products for the cooperative.
Up to now, the work of the cooperative has created jobs and stable income for about 30 employees. After 7 months of operation, up to now, the cooperative has developed 3 facilities, including: 1 yarn production facility and 1 craft production, soaking and brewing facility in Lap Phuong village; 1 craft production, soaking and brewing facility in Vinh Trung village.
Banana peel after being put into fiber pressing
Towards the billion-dollar market
Having available materials and methods, with a feasible model, the market factor is the worry of any cooperative or enterprise. Mr. Bui Khanh Dung – Director of Musa Pacta Company Limited – said that the world banana fiber market has been formed and developed for about 15-20 years. This is a vibrant market, developing continuously with the world’s leading exporters of raw banana fibers such as the Philippines, India, China, etc., earning billions of USD each year.
Banana fiber drying
According to market research reports of major research firms in the world such as Euromonitor, the growth rate of the banana fiber market in the past 10 years has always been at 16 – 30% per year.
About more than 10 years ago, the Philippines established the Banana Yarn Corporation under the Philippine Department of Agriculture. In the Philippines alone, with a super-fiber banana called Abaca, the country annually increases the planting area from 15 to 20 thousand hectares to be enough to supply the export market.
“Despite its superiority, the Philippine banana fiber is not comparable to the Vietnamese banana fiber. Because, Vietnam’s banana fiber has the same softness, light and smoothness as Indian banana fiber. Currently, Indian banana fiber is nearly 2 times more expensive than Philippine banana fiber, “said Mr. Bui Khanh Dung.
Shred bananas into rolls
Although Vietnamese banana fiber is expected to be able to compete with similar products from India and the Philippines, Mr. Bui Khanh Dung said that Vietnam is currently at the beginning. “When starting to produce, there are partners from Singapore or Dubai when contacting us, one of their questions is, is it right to manufacture in Vietnam? We have to confirm that this is Vietnam’s banana fiber and produced by us,” said Mr. Bui Khanh Dung.
Mr. Bui Khanh Dung said that this is probably a challenge, when the Covid-19 epidemic has been and is taking place. A lot of back-and-forth trade slowed down. When the epidemic passes, trade reconnects, business partners will come to Vietnam, this will be an opportunity for Vietnamese banana fiber to enter the world banana fiber market.
Banana fiber is used as an input material for many products, including handicraft products
Khai Thai commune with a population of 9,700 people, 2,700 households, has a lot of surplus labor in the countryside. Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang – Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Khai Thai Commune – shared, in Vietnam, banana trees are currently mainly used for fruit, a few can take advantage of dried leaves, fresh leaves, and fresh flowers. . Banana stem is almost 100% cut, causing waste and even polluting the environment, banana growers even have to pay the cost of cutting down and discarding the banana stem after harvest. Khai Thai agricultural trade and service cooperative was established and put into operation, not only creating more jobs for many laborers in the commune but also helping to solve environmental problems. Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang hopes that the cooperative development will reach communes in Phu Xuyen district.
Products made from banana fiber
Vietnam currently has about 150,000 hectares of bananas for fruit with a large area on a farm or farm scale. If including the small area of households, banana varieties that do not take fruit such as leaf bananas, seed bananas, wild bananas, the area of banana trees in our country is over 200,000 ha. This area can supply about 200,000 tons of yarn per year, which can bring about 700 million USD in revenue if calculated according to the lowest price of raw banana fiber in the international market today, about 3.5 USD/kg.
Products made from banana fiber
Willing to participate in national programs in agricultural and rural development such as the Program “One Commune One Product” (OCOP)… Mr. Nguyen Duc Tuan said that the cooperative’s goal is not only to create jobs. helping local people but also developing Khai Thai’s banana fiber can become a spearhead product of the locality and further write Vietnam’s name on the world map of banana fiber market.
(https://congthuong.vn/soi-chuoi-viet-va-ky-vong-chinh-phuc-thi-truong-ty-usd-140112.html)
