The Jiouru Township Farmers’ Association on Friday packed 100kg of pineapple fibers that would be repurposed for use in textileS and clothing, marking the start of agricultural waste valorization, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
The pineapple fibers would be delivered to the textile company UKL Enterprise Co, turned into yarn and apparel, and then exported to the US, Japan and Vietnam, it said.
Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said that the fibers were collected from 20,000 pineapples grown on about 0.5 hectares of farmland and can be made into about 7,500 garments.
Photo: Screen grab from Ministry of Agriculture’s Web site
The association purchases pineapple leaves from agricultural workers at NT$7 per kilogram, bringing them an additional income of NT$10,000 per 0.5 hectares based on about 2 tonnes of pineapple leaves per 0.5 hectares, he said.
Pineapple is one of Taiwan’s major fruit exports, but for a long time, only the fruit has been harvested for use, Chen said.
The rest of the plant has been buried as fertilizer, but the whole plant could actually be repurposed for diverse applications, he said.
For example, pineapple leaf fibers can be made into yarn and used to manufacture textiles, and the leaf detritus can be processed into boards or plant-based leather, Chen said.
Bromelain can also be extracted from pineapple stems, which can be used in feed additives or medical dressings, while the peel can be made into silage, he added.
The ministry would invest more resources in the development of more automatic equipment for pineapple harvesting and leaf collection to lessen the human labor required for fieldwork and stabilize the supply of pineapple biowaste, Chen said.
The ministry said full recycling of agricultural resources and achieving zero waste are its key administrative goals.
It guided the association to introduce the automatic equipment for extracting fibers from pineapple leaves, which significantly improved fiber quality and production efficiency, the ministry said.
It said it would also continue to assist more companies in taking part in the valorization and in various applications of other agricultural biowaste to promote circular agriculture.
Association secretary-general Kung Tai-wen (龔泰文) said he expects the ministry to also help introduce an automatic device for collecting pineapple leaves to further reduce the costs.
Additional reporting by CNA
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