The newly designated chief of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, Dir. Clarito M. Barron met with Messrs. Howard McCormick and Bhavesh Soni of AHLSTROM and the members of the Philippine Fiber Exporter Association (PFEA) during a luncheon meeting in Makati City last April 18, 2015.  AHLSTROM is one of the biggest importers of abaca in the Philippines.  The company’s main headquarter is in Helsinki, Finland and it has processing plants in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America. The products produced by the company are mainly fiber-based material applications such as filters, medical fabrics, life science materials and diagnostics, wall coverings and sheets for food packaging.

According to Mr. McCormick, abaca is one of the most important raw materials of the company which is used mainly for food packaging products like tea bags, coffee filters and meat casings. It is also largely being utilized for medical fabrics such as face masks and medical gowns.       Mr. McCormick shared that their business is growing at 3-4% annually and is expected to continue to use Philippine abaca fibers for their products. His company requests PhilFIDA to help them to receive a sustainable supply of abaca for their processing plants.

Dir. Barron assured the group that PhilFIDA has programs to increase abaca production which includes the development of new abaca areas and rehabilitation of abaca farms.  He also discussed that the office has also ongoing projects on disease control and management, research and development, and on the regulation of the quality of abaca fibers.  The office is also assisting exporters and farmer groups in the sustainability certification process of abaca farms in accordance to international agriculture standards through the Rainforest Alliance.

The PFEA members present in the meeting were: Mr. Alex Tan, PFEA President; Messrs. Eddie, Square and Doy Tan of SC Tan; Messrs. Nelson Lim, Jon Carlson Lim and Ms. Charina Lim of Ching Bee Trading Corporation, Mr. Larry Inocando of  PSPI and  Mr. Jericho Orlina of TAG Fibers. 

From left: Engr. Petronilo Jabay , OIC Dep. Exec. Director of PhilFIDA; Mr. Jon Carlson Lim of Ching Bee Trading Corporation; Dir. Clarito M. Barron, OIC Executive Director, PhilFIDA; Mr. Larry Inocando of PSPI;   Mr. Howard McCormick of AHLSTROM; Mr. Salvador Tan of SC Tan; Mr. Bhavesh Soni of AHLSTROM; Mr. Eddie Tan of SC Tan; Ms. Lim and  Mr. Nelson Lim of Ching Bee Trading Corporation; Mr. Alex Tan, President PFEA; Mr. Square Tan of SC Tan; and Mr. Jericho Orlina of TAG.