FAO launches international year of natural fibres

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) launched the 'International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) 2009' in a bid to emphasise the value of fibres while helping to sustain the incomes of farmers. At a ceremony launching the IYNF, Hafez Ghanem, the FAO assistant director-general for social and economic development, said the production of animal and vegetable fibres was a major agricultural sector, worth about $40 billion annually to the world& #8217;s farmers.Fibres, Mr. Ghanem noted, could in some cases account for up to 50 per cent of a developing country's exports.  Every year, about 30 million tons of natural fibres are harvested from animals and plants around the globe from China (cotton, wool, hemp, sisal, ramie silk, etc) to the Andes (Alpaca). The biggest crop is cotton, with an annual production of about 25 million tonnes. There are about 2.2 million tonnes of wool produced every year in almost 100 countries, with Australia accounting for roughly a quarter of the production.In volume terms, jute, which comes from the skin of Corchorus plants, is the world's second biggest fibre crop (2.3 to 2.8 million tonnes) but is worth far less than wool in terms of cash. The main producers of jute are India and Bangladesh.The main objective of the IYNF is to raise the profile of fibres and to emphasise their value to consumers while helping to sustain the incomes of the farmers.

The Hindu, 23rd January 2009