Already suffering from a 42-percent drop in fiber production due to super typhoon Pepito last year, the abaca industry in Catanduanes may have sustained moderate to heavy damage from last Sunday’s super typhoon “Uwan.”
In an interview with the Tribune last Friday, Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFIDA) provincial fiber officer Roberto Lusuegro shared this outlook just two days before the howler passed close to the island.
A direct hit by the howler, he said at the time, could worsen the situation of abaca farmers, who are still recovering from the effects of STY Pepito that flattened plantations in the northern towns almost a year ago.
The official disclosed that abaca fiber harvest has been down since May 2025 as affected farmers could no longer recover fiber from the downed plants.
The only significant harvests are from the towns of San Miguel, Bato, Baras, San Andres, Virac and parts of Caramoran, he said.
PhilFIDA estimated the fiber production loss due to STY Pepito at 40 percent as of Oct. 30 but the final figures are still being consolidated.
If Uwan leaves Catanduanes relatively unscathed, the abaca industry could recover soon as most of the plantations in the island are those of the hardier “abuab” variety, Lusuegro told the Tribune.
The other varieties like “sul-on,” “lagonoyon”, and linubluban cannot withstand a storm’s strong winds, he said.
However, the super typhoon passed about 25 kilometers northeast of Pandan last Sunday morning, potentially affecting the same abaca plantations ravaged by STY Pepito almost a year ago.
Lusuegro opined that heavy damage from the storm could set back the full recovery of the abaca industry by another two years.
A check of the statistics at the PhilFIDA website shows that abaca fiber production for the first nine months of 2025 totaled just 5,983 metric tons, or just 42 percent of the 10,377 metric tons harvested in Catanduanes during the same period last year.
The agency is now conducting inspection and assessment of affected abaca plantations in all 11 towns.
The new calamity comes almost a year after STY Pepito’s rampage across the northern towns, with the 15,000 abaca farmers still waiting for the promised assistance.
It is claimed that Talino at Galing ng Pinoy (TGP) Partylist Rep. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr. has already asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to provide about P200 million in abaca rehabilitation funds for Catanduanes, with the formal proposal now being finalized for submission to PhilFIDA’s parent agency.
The new funding will not cover the procurement of abaca planting materials for distribution to farmers, which was implemented by the past provincial administration.
“Rugado ang saha ta ikua pa sa bukid, ipresentar for inspection bago itao sa mga farmers,” an official said.
At that time, recipient abaca farmers received only P1,700 each as incentive under the DA rehab program.
The amount is almost half of the P3,000 Cash-for-Work incentive granted to 1,639 farmers in Virac and San Andres under the Economic and Livelihood Recovery – Abaca Rehabilitation Project of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) in late 2021.
Prior to STY Pepito in 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations under its Anticipatory Action Protocols 48 hours before the typhoon’s projected landfall provided multi-purpose cash aid to over 2,813 individuals, including abaca farmers.
The recipients in Virac, San Andres, Bato, Baras, Pandan, San Miguel, and Gigmoto received P3,300 each to help them better prepare for the typhoon’s impact.
Lusuegro said last Friday that he was not aware if FAO or any agency or non-government organization implemented the AA protocols, adding that the agencies concerned already have the list of abaca farmers, with the distribution of the cash aid coordinated with municipal governments.
The latest heartbreak to befall local abaca farmers comes as fiber buying prices increased recently due to higher demand in the world market, with the G, J and K fiber being bought by local traders at P59 to P60 per kilo, compared to the previous P30 to P40 per kilo.
Farmgate prices of abaca fiber by grades as of Oct. 31, 2025 are as follows:
FIBER GRADE |
PRICE PER KILO |
S2 |
P 93.00 |
S3 |
P 55.00 |
I |
P 82.00 |
G |
P 62.00 |
H |
P 50.00 |
JK |
P 60.00 |
M1 |
P 45.00 |
Y1 |
P 45.00 |
Y2 |
P 40.00 |
The higher prices would benefit the farmers, particularly those who produce the higher grades like S2, S3 and I but these types of fiber account for only 30 percent of the total 2025 production so far, with S2 fibers less than two percent of the total.
Local farmers who have long used to the manual, hand stripping of the fiber produce the less fine G, H and JK grades.
Just last month, the PhilFIDA regional office conducted a training on the safe operation of the spindle stripping machine in San Miguel town, aimed at enhancing farmers’ skills in operating abaca spindle stripping machines safely and efficiently, while promoting proper fiber handling and quality improvement in abaca production.
The training follows the recent distribution of 10 portable stripping machines procured under a Turkish government grant with PhilFIDA providing a counterpart of P20,000 each to three farmers associations in Solong in San Miguel, Sagrada in Viga and Lumabao in Pandan for the construction of stripping sheds.
The associations have expressed their desire to build stripping sheds at other locations near their members’ plantations at their own cost.
Five trained operators will also teach other farmers how to operate the new machines, which are unlike the previous wheeled models that could not be brought near the mountains.
“The new stripping machines can be dismantled and then reassembled easily, as the fabricator had to adopt new technology and favor portability in the design,” PhilFIDA’s Lusuegro stated.
“Magian talaga ang makina, pasanayan lang,” he added, referring to the abaca farmers’ need to become used to mechanized stripping to realize greater income.