February 20, 2014

To,

Mr. Mohiuddin Chowdhury

Lecturer

Department of Finance & Banking

University of Chittagong

Subject: Prospects of banana fiber in Bangladesh

Sir,

It is our pleasure to submit an idea about “The prospects of banana filter fiber in Bangladesh” as a part of our B.B.A. Program. We tried our best to develop and design idea. Without your sincere co-operation and proper guideline, it would not be possible for us. For this act of kindness, we are grateful to you. This paper is not free from mistake due to some limitations. We hope you will accept it with gracious consideration.

Thank you for giving us such an opportunity for working on this topic. It will be our pleasure to provide you any additional information, if necessary.

Thank you,

Sincerely yours,

(On behalf of Group)

Inzamam-Ul- Hoque

Group member

|No |Name |Id |
|1 |Umme Nurin Ahmed |11303066 |
|2 |Sharmin Akter |11303046 |
|3 |Anika Jahan |11303118 |
|4 |Jesmin Akter |11303110 |
|5 |S M Sajid |11303004 |
|6 |Md. Maruf Ul Alam |11303030 |
|7 |Kazi Masba Uddin |11303121 |
|8 |Nabanita Mojumdar |11303015 |
|9 |Khadizatul Kubra |11303007 |
|10 |Miftahul Zannat |11303093 |
|11 |Md Sajjad Hossain |11303022 |
|12 |Inzamam – Ul - Hoque |11303023 |

Table Of Contents

What is Fiber 3

Introducing Banana Fiber 5

Why Banana Fiber ? 7

Competitors Analysis 8

Characteristics of Banana Fiber 9

Extraction of Banana Fiber 10

Innovation in Extraction Process of Banana Fiber 11

Application of Eco-Friendly Banana Fiber 12

Banana Fiber In Bangladesh Perspective 14

Scope of banana fiber in BD 17

SWOT analysis 17

Major Findings 18

Action Plans 20

Impact on economic growth and Job creation 22

Conclusion 23

What is Fiber

Fiber or fibre (British spelling) (from the French fibre) is a rope or string used as a component of composite materials, or matted into sheets to make products such as paper or felt. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials are generally made as fibers, for example carbon fiber and Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
Synthetic fibers can often be produced very cheaply and in large amounts compared to natural fibers, but for clothing natural fibers can give some benefits, such as comfort, over their synthetic counterparts.

Textile fiber
A unit in which many complicated textile structures are built up is said to be textile fiber.
Natural fibers
Natural fibers include those produced by plants, animals, and geological processes. They are biodegradable over time. They can be classified according to their origin: • Vegetable fibers are generally based on arrangements of cellulose, often with lignin: examples include cotton, hemp, jute, flax, ramie, sisal and bagasse. Plant fibers are employed in the manufacture of paper and textile (cloth), and dietary fiber is an important component of human nutrition. • Wood fiber, distinguished from vegetable fiber, is from tree sources. Forms include groundwood, thermo mechanical pulp (TMP) and bleached or unbleached kraft or sulfite pulps. Kraft and sulfite, also called sulphite, refer to the type of pulping process used to remove the lignin bonding the original wood structure, thus freeing the fibers for use in paper and engineered wood products such as fiberboard. • Animal fibers consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are silkworm silk, spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool, sea silk and hair such as cashmere wool, mohair and angora, fur such as sheepskin, rabbit, mink, fox, beaver, etc. • Mineral fibers include the asbestos group. Asbestos is the only naturally occurring long mineral fiber. Six minerals have been classified as "asbestos" including chrysotile of the serpentine class and those belonging to the amphibole class: amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Short, fiber-like minerals include wollastonite and palygorskite.

Man-made fibers
Man-made fibers or chemical fibers are fibers whose chemical composition, structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing process. Man-made fibers consist of regenerated fibers and synthetic fibers.

• Regenerated fibers • Semi-synthetic fibers • Synthetic fibers • Metallic fibers • Carbon fiber • Fiberglass • Polymer fibers.

Introducing Banana Fiber

Banana Fiber – the most promising resource

Banana fibers present important advantages such as low density, appropriate stiffness and mechanical properties and high disposability and renew ability. Moreover, they are recyclable and biodegradable. There has been lot of research on use of natural fibers in reinforcements. Banana fiber, a ligno-cellulosic fiber, obtained from banana plant (Musa sepientum), is a best fiber with relatively good mechanical properties.

Banana plant not only gives the delicious fruit but it also provides textile fiber, the banana fiber. It grows easily as it sets out young shoots and is most commonly found in hot tropical climates. All varieties of banana plants have fibers in abundance. These fibers are obtained after the fruit is harvested and fall in the group of bast fibers. This plant has long been a good source for high quality textiles in many parts of the world, especially in Japan and Nepal.

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops grown in Bangladesh. Considering the year round availability, popularity and production, banana is considered to be the number one fruit in Bangladesh. This crop accounts for 45% of the total fruit production in the country with 25% share in cultivable area. The total production of banana is recorded to be one million MTs from an area of 56, 000 hectares of land. This calculation has made based on commercial cultivation which if included the homestead products would have been much higher. The principal banana growing areas however, are Rangamati, Barisal, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Noakhali, Faridpur, and Khulna.

After harvest of fruit, huge quantity of about 60 to 80 tons per hector of waste biomass (pseudostem, leaves, suckers etc.) is generated. Usually, this biomass is dumped on roadside or burnt or left in situ causing detrimental impact on environment. However, there exist a vast potential of extracting fibers from pseudo stem which appears to be good scope of profitable use in textile and paper industries on commercial scale. As a result, what was previously regarded as agricultural waste and a nuisance for farmers is now a raw material for good quality silk grade fiber yarn. Vegetarian silk fabric has very good market potential in abroad specifically in European markets. 11

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In banana plantations, after the fruits are harvested, the trunks or stems will be wasted. Billion tons of stems and leaves are thrown away annually. Such waste provides obtainable sources of fibers, which leads to the reduction of other natural and synthetic fibers' production that requires extra energy, fertilizer, and chemical. The properties of banana fiber are good absorbent, highly breathable, quickly dry with high tensile strength.

.

Why Banana Fiber ?
Due to the relatively high cost of synthetic fibers and health hazards, it becomes necessary to explore natural fiber. Banana fiber is a good alternative to this. Banana fiber is Eco friendly, Chemical free and odour free. It is grease proof, water, fire and heat resistant also totally bio-degradable. This fiber is better than other organic fiber in terms of spin ability, tensile strength. It is blended with other fiber like cotton making it very suitable for making fabric. Banana trees bare fruit only once. After the tree sends out its fruit the tree will start to die, but before it does, the plant will send out at least one new shoot at the bottom of the old tree. If you don't cut the old tree down it will eventually die, and the plant will look messy. Banana trees, like many other plants, including lawn grass, and some orchids reproduce by growing new plants out of their rhizome.

And it has -

1. Highest tensile strength. 2. Extensibility 3. Water resistance 4. Softness 5. Fire resistance 6. Grease proof

Competitors Analysis

|Properties |Banana Fiber |Jute Fiber |Paper |Hemp |Sisal |
|Highest Tensile Strength |Yes |No |No |No |No |
|Extensibility |Yes |No |No |Yes |No |
|Water Resistance |Yes |No |No |No |No |
|Fire Resistance |Yes |No |No |No |No |
|Softness |Yes |No |Yes |No |Yes |

Characteristics of Banana Fiber

Banana fiber is a natural fiber. It has its own physical and chemical characteristics and many other properties that make it a fine quality fiber.

• Appearance of banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but its fineness and spin ability is better than the two. • The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemi-cellulose, and lignin. • It is highly strong fiber. • It has smaller elongation. • It has somewhat shiny appearance depending upon the extraction & spinning process. • It is light weight. • It has strong moisture absorption quality. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast. • It is bio- degradable and has no negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly fiber. • Its average fineness is 2400Nm. • It can be spun through almost all the methods of spinning including ring spinning, open-end spinning, bast fiber spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others. • Banana fiber has great potentialities for paper making because of its high alpha-cellulose and low lignin content. • Fire resistance quality

Extraction of Banana Fiber

Historically, banana fiber was extracted by hand. The hand process requires a long time and skilled practice to collect fibers and costs damage of around 15 - 20% of fibers. Invention of extraction machine at recent time has made it easy to extract huge quantity of fibers at a shortest period of time to be used for commercial purpose. The processes for making yarn from banana fibers vary from region to region and most popular methods used in this region are Japanese method and Nepalese method. The methods begin from the selection of land, variety of saplings for cultivation to nursing and extraction of fibers.

After fiber is collected, the process goes to yarn spinning and then weaving. The spinning and weaving machines are very much available now in southern India where the extractions of natural fiber and production of a range of handicrafts and home textile materials are expanding rapidly.

The processes for making yarn from banana fibers vary from region to region. Most popular methods among these are those followed in Japan and Nepal.

Japanese Method
The cultivation of banana for clothing and other household use in Japan dates back to the 13th century. In the Japanese method of making banana fiber, the care is taken right from the stage of plant cultivation. The leaves and shoots of the banana plant are pruned periodically to ensure their softness. The harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare the fibers for making the yarn. These banana shoots give away fibers having varying degrees of softness. This further results in yarns and textiles with differing qualities that can be used for specific purposes. The outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest ones. They are therefore, more suitable for making such home furnishings as tablecloths. The softest part is the innermost part that gives soft fibers which are widely used for making kimono and kamishimo, the traditional Japanese apparels. The banana cloth making process is a lengthy one and all the steps are performed by hand.

Nepalese Method
In Nepal, the trunk of the banana plant is harvested instead of the shoots. Small pieces of these trunks are put through a softening process for mechanical extraction of the fibers, and then bleaching, and drying. The fiber obtained thus has appearance similar to silk which has become popular as banana silk fiber yarn. This fiber is refined, processed and skeined mostly by the Nepalese women. Only the aged bark or the decaying outer layers of the banana plant are harvested and soaked in water to quicken the natural process. When all the chlorophyll is dissolved, only the cellulose fibers remain. They are extruded into pulp so that they may become suitable for spinning into yarn. The yarn is then hand- dyed. They have high textural quality similar to silk and as such employed in making high end rugs. These traditional rugs are woven by hand-knotted methods again by the women of Nepal.

Innovation in Extraction Process of Banana Fiber

The Banana Fiber Extractor Machine is first of its kind invented for the extraction of fiber from waste portions of Banana such as stems, leaf stalks and peduncle. Varieties types of machine of varied capacity are available in China, Philippine and India and among them Indian machines are comparatively cheaper and easy to import for Bangladesh. The machine has been developed in India by Tiruchirappalli Regional Engineering College - Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (TREC-STEP).

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It is a low cost portable device developed for the benefit of the farming Community and Self help women group or clusters. It helps production of the best quality silk grade fibers used for handicrafts and textile industries to produce fine quality selective products. Cost of the Machine varies basing on the iron and steel rates. 100% safety in machine operation with less maintenance cost. Production capacity of machine is 25 kg per 8 hrs. The most popular two types of machines are;

• Single motor-single machine runs with 2 HP single phase motor. • Single motor-Double machines runs with 2 HP single phase motor.
Both machines can be run with diesel engine also. In addition, low cost fiber spinning and weaving machines are also available in India which can be replicated and reproduced in Bangladesh making it cheaper and easily available for expanded use in the country. Technical supports are available there in India and more specifically in Chennai, Tamil Nadu of India. Both hand driven and mechanical machineries of varied capacities are available there.

Application of Eco-Friendly Banana Fiber

In the recent past, banana fiber had a very limited application and was primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some other composite materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing importance of eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as apparel garments and home furnishings.

Fabric with Banana Fiber

Great Revolution in the field of Textile Industry while we consume the Banana fruit, CLOTH will be woven from Banana tree fiber. You can’t imagine how the local textile industry is set for a major boom, after the next new sensation in textile industry with the invention of Banana Fiber Fabric. Innovation sees no limit and Indian consumers can expect something big coming up in the textile industry like fabrics and textiles woven from fine quality Banana Fiber. Banana Fiber is a new bio degradable natural fiber extracted from bark of Banana tree. Banana Fiber is made up of thick walled cell tissue and bonded by natural gums. The appearance of Banana Fiber is similar that of natural bamboo fiber but its fineness and spin ability is better than natural bamboo and ramie fibers. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. A research study is already being carried out by the National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) and if the proposition turns out to be viable, the country can very soon expect the domestic market to be flooded with an array of textile and garment products made from Banana Fiber.

Banana Fiber Bags (Eco-friendly)

Eco-friendly bags are made from banana fiber or banana fiber paper can be substitute for polythene bags.

Banana Fiber Cloth (Eco-friendly)

Clothes made from banana fiber have a silk like feeling and do not require any chemicals to make.

Sari and Shirt from Banana Fiber

Banana fiber has an affinity to colors that makes it easier to weave attractive designs from it. The process maybe cumbersome but the six yard wonders fabricated from this fiber is very comfortable and in much demand. These saris are woven in natural fabrics like banana fiber. It is very comfortable to wear and relieves off the scorching heat as they have a cooling effect. It is really nice to wear, These saris are supplied to both national and international markets. We have benefited a lot from these natural fiber clothes. There is a huge demand for them in both national and international markets. Though popular for its fruit, the banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. Banana fiber was used in Philippines for making shirts and other dresses. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. The fibers, extracted from the banana stem, are odorless and can be dyed. They do not shrink and the color does not fade after a wash. The fabric’s stiffness, even in the absence of starch, could make it a favorite among politicians. the fabric could be 100% banana fiber, a mix of 60% cotton will give it maximum durability.

Other Uses

• Banana fiber has great potentialities for paper making special demand of Hand made paper. • Its fiber has used like rope, mats and other composite materials. • Banana fiber has recognized for apparels and home furnishings. • Polypropylene reinforced with banana fiber is used by automobile companies for making under floor protection panels in luxurious cars like Mercedes. • Banana fiber mostly used in making handicrafts and home decorative. • Composite material of banana fiber used in building boards and fire resistance boards. • Banana fiber is making products like paper bags, filter paper, greeting cards, decorative papers, pen stands, lamp stand and many more. • Banana fiber in used currency notes in Germany and trial run in India also.

Banana Fiber In Bangladesh Perspective

Agricultural waste management is an important issue in a nation with a population well over 160,000,000 confined to a very small land mass. Innovative concepts which may lead to a reduction in waste, along with the generation of income and employment for rural poor and more specially women; plus import substitutions and increased exports certainly were considered when the Ministry of Industry (MoI) on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in coordination with the European Union selected Natural Fibers as one of the priority sectors within the economy of Bangladesh to target for having a high growth potential. As an agrarian country, Bangladesh produces huge quantity of agricultural waste every year from its production process most of which are unutilized and results in pollution to soil and water bodies. However, in many other countries wastes are no longer management a burden creating pollution; but rather have become new sources of valuable resources for the country. In Bangladesh Banana, Pineapple and Coconut are major agricultural crops which produce great revenue, also produce huge leftover waste after crops are harvested. Through proper management and new product development much of this waste material can offer new employment opportunities for rural people especially women. For thousands of years, people all over the world have used fibers from plants and animals to make cloth, string and paper, and strengthen building materials. Bangladesh is one of the major natural fibers producing country and among them Jute, Cotton, Silk and Coir products are great use in the country as well items for export market. For centuries, the chief export of the Bengal economy was silk and jute products. In the 21st century, Natural Fibers extracted from Banana and Pineapple have great promise of producing steady additional income for many people throughout Bangladesh; while at the same time reduce imports and increase exports via business activities which are

currently dominated by India, Thailand, China, Philippine, Malaysia, Nepal and Vietnam. As noted earlier in this report, Natural Fibers is one of the priority sectors selected by the MoI as having the potential for rapid expansion within Bangladesh with the goal of creating employment, import substitution and expanding exports. Silk, Jute and Cotton industries enjoy the support of the GoB

due to the labor intensive nature of these business activities. Natural Fibers produced from Banana and Pineapple are now getting attention from both government and private sectors. Bangladesh already has a vibrant and mature business activities engaged in Jute and Home Textiles. In the case of Jute, approximately 50% is exported as raw fiber, with the balance sold as manufactured items. The USA and the EU are the major export outlets. According to GoB export statistics, the tonnage of raw Jute exported is approximately 667,000 MTs annually; while the exports of products made from Jute stands at 654,000 MTs annually; for a combined value of USD$ 672.38 million/annum. As regular trade in the above mentioned products

already exists, there may be distribution and marketing synergy to products made from Banana Fibers resulting in entry to the export marketplace fairly quick; leading to the potential for creation of new employment & access to export markets. Based upon estimates of the annual production of Bananas and Pineapples there is no shortage of available raw product from which to extract Natural Fibers. The Guidelines related to the EU Bangladesh INSPIRED Grant Scheme make frequent reference to new innovative concepts and value added products as hoped for outcomes of this program as envisioned by the MoI. Concepts related to Natural Fibers is specifically mentioned within the Guidelines as innovations which may be given special consideration and a relaxation of the Guideline rules as related to Grant awards. There is increasing demand from abroad for ‘green’ and ‘natural’ products of all types throughout the USA, Canada and the EU. Neighboring countries to Bangladesh are already fully engaged with active and vibrant business ventures involving Natural Fibers produced from Banana. Therefore, the decision by the MoI with the support of the EU to not only include Natural Fibers as a “priority sector”; but consider bending the Guidelines for Concepts which focus on the development of Natural Fiber clusters is visionary. Coconut, Banana and Pineapple fibers can be used for producing dozens of essential household products and handicraft items to meet the growing global demand for Natural products. Currently, according to GoB statistics Bangladesh is annually exporting approximately one billion U.S. dollars of home textile products. The addition of products made from Banana and Pineapple Natural Fibers could dramatically increase this impressive statistic, create employment for thousands of Bangladeshi citizens reduce imports, reduce harmful waste which is impacting land and waterways and reduce imports.

Scope of banana fiber in BD

Following are, in brief, potential immediate benefits as the production of finished products from Banana Fiber emerges in Bangladesh:

· New resource innovation.
· New skill introduction.
· New producer groups / clusters with new product line.
· Employment creation.
· Introduction of new technology and products.
· No cost agricultural Waste management for the farmers.
· Freed from soil pollution.

Long term environmental considerations offer one of many opportunities which could lead to the development of a vibrant and sustainable Natural Fibers business ventures within Bangladesh. Other potential benefits follow:

· Expansion of rural agro-based industries.
· Promotion of export item and foreign currency earning.
· Sustainable Employment generation in rural areas & especially for women.
· New product line development.
· Promotion of organic fertilizer (from production wastages).
· Availability and increased use of organic fertilizers.
· Import substitution, replacing cotton for some clothing items.
· Facilitate promotion of other fibers based products.

SWOT Analysis

| Strength | Weakness |
| | |
|Raw materials are abundantly available with tens of thousands of metric |Lack of awareness among producer clusters, home textile clusters and many key |
|tons of banana and pineapple foliage available annually. |governmental Ministries as to the economic potential for Natural Fibers. |
|There is an increasing demand for Natural Fibers all around the globe. |A lack of skilled human resources in the country to promote Natural Fiber business |
|Import substitution of imported cotton fibers for the fabric and textile |activities. |
|industries |Risk aversion among key groups who could benefit from the development of Natural |
|Adequate organized labor with functioning clusters |Fibers. |
| Opportunity | Threats |
| | |
|Technology and machinery are available in our neighbor country. |Frequent natural calamities in Bangladesh. |
|Machinery required is not complicated and could be ‘copied’ by Light |Frequent business disruptions due to nationwide strikes and political unrest. |
|Engineering firms in Bangladesh |Disease and pests impacting raw product. |
|Raw materials are cheap and within the reach. |Competition with neighboring countries. |
|There is substantial unemployment amongst women in Bangladesh which could |Lack of clarity for all factors within government as to support. |
|be reduced via the development of a Natural Fibers business sector. | |

Major Findings

( Banana fibers are one abundantly available in the country but not in any current productive use.

( Commercial production of Bananas within Bangladesh covers 56,000 H of land every year; leaving behind literally mountains of leaves from both crops. From this waste, rough estimates suggest that potentially over 60,000 MT of Natural Fibers could be produced from Banana leaves.

( Natural Fiber costs less to produce than synthetic products and more Friendly to the environment.

( For some applications, Natural Fibers produced from Banana leaves can be a substitute for cotton in making home textile products.

( The USA and EU are growing market outlets for ‘Naturally’ produced products.

( Currently Bangladesh generates one billion USD Annually from exporting home textile materials to USA and EU countries.

( Only 2% of the cotton utilized within Bangladesh is produced internally, with

the balance imported from Pakistan, India and China; all of which adds to the

cost of clothing produced in Bangladesh.

( After harvesting Banana waste products become a major management burden for producers resulting in serious pollution to land and water.

( Neighboring countries are moving fast in the production of Natural Fiber from various sources (Banana, Pineapple, Hemp, Sisal and Bamboo), thus creating new employment for the poor as well meeting increased global demand.

( There is a growing market for Natural Fiber products globally and in particular with in the USA, EU, UK and Japan as well among the growing middle class within Bangladesh.

( Bangladesh has the potential of increasing production and sales of home textile products for export as China, India and Pakistan are reportedly shifting their textile industries to mechanized and automated production techniques.

( Production of cloth and other products from Natural Fibers, incorporating sound environmental practices may help improve the current negative image Bangladesh holds on the world stage as related to pollution.

( The benefits which producers of Jute have enjoyed due to the support of the

GoB and private interests may soon extend to producers of Natural Fibers made from Banana, Coconut and Pineapple due to the efforts of the MoI to target this potential sector as a priority which has the promise of high growth potential. Via the EU Bangladesh INSPIRED Grant Scheme, not only producers of these Natural Fibers; but home textile operators will benefit from the emergence of this sector.

Action Plans

( Successful Action Plans involving Natural Fibers to be produced from Banana, Coconut and/or Pineapple Leaves must consider both the ‘Extraction Tier’ as well as the ‘Home Textile Tier’ of this Value Chain.

( Managing of waste subsequent to the extraction of fibers in an environmentally sound manner must be included within any Action Plans.

( Training at all levels will be critical to the development of developing this sector.

( Field trips by representatives of the sector to production areas in other countries where Natural Fibers are being extracted and converted to marketable products will significantly add to the success of Action Plans.

( Action Plans should include promotion al activities to promote Natural Fibers

from Banana as a substitute for cotton which will result in import substitution.

( Promotional activities to enhance the marketing of products produced from Banana and Pineapple Natural Fibers should also be integral to Action Plans.

( Linking products made from Banana and Pineapple Natural Fibers with mature industrial based products intended for export will result in efficiency and improved profit margins.

( Machinery suitable for extracting Natural Fibers are accessible from neighboring countries as prototypes. However, the Light Industry sector within

Bangladesh can develop similar equipment, adding to jobs within the country.

( Exposure visits to Trade Fairs in other countries should be organized as part

of product development and marketing.

It is evident from the technical study on Natural Fibers that the country is rich in the availability of Natural Fibers from various sources and among them Jute, Cotton, Silk, Banana, Pineapple, Bamboo, Coconut are major sources of raw product awaiting effective utilization. Jute, Cotton, Silk and Coconut are already in use, although in a very limited scale; but Banana and Pineapple which are widely available throughout the country are not only unused but presents a huge environmental threat by polluting soil and water; and adds to the cost of production experienced by producers of Banana and Pineapple. These two sources of Natural Fibers have a huge potential to evolve and offer employment opportunities to rural women through promotion of a range of handicraft, home textile products and to join the exportable items coming from Bangladesh. Neighboring countries like India, Nepal, Thailand, Philippine, Malaysia and Japan have very successfully utilized Natural Fibers in creation of thousands of home based jobs for women through promotion a range of valuable textile and handicraft products. Despite huge availability of raw materials throughout the country, Bangladesh is far behind in productive use of these valuable natural fibers from Banana and Pineapple. Therefore, promotion of natural fiber based industries in Bangladesh requires interventions from the bottom of the value chain to the end users

Impact on economic growth and Job creation

Based upon the experience in other banana producing countries where enterprises have developed related to Natural Fibers produced from banana and pineapple leaves; the economic impact for Bangladesh could be significant. Bangladesh enjoys substantial sustainable production of both commodities. Therefore, there is a very adequate source of raw product. In addition, there are numerous producer clusters throughout the banana and pineapple producing areas in Bangladesh which are well organized to facilitate the processing of Natural Fibers. Obvious impacts related to economic growth and job creation include:

· Substituting Natural Fibers for cotton results in import substitution.
· Strengthen the handicraft and home textile industries
· New skilled human resources development in related occupations such as fiber extractors, weavers, designing, marketing and logistics.
· Facilitate the growth of other fiber based products

Immediate benefits

Natural Fibers is one of the 8 priority sub-sectors identified by the MoI for rapid growth with an objective of stimulating employment creation, import substitution and exports. The Silk, Jute and Cotton industries enjoy support by the GoB for its labor intensiveness. As per the interest shown by the MoI in Banana and Pineapple Fibers; obviously these Fibers are now coming into focus as the next potential job, export and import substitution economic engines. Following are, in brief, potential immediate benefits as the production of finished products from Banana and Pineapple Natural Fibers emerges in Bangladesh:

· New resource innovation.
· New skill introduction.
· New producer groups / clusters with new product line.
· Employment creation.
· Introduction of new technology and products.
· No cost agricultural Waste management for the farmers.
· Freed from soil pollution.

Long-term benefits

Reportedly production of one ton of jute fiber by small scale farmers requires just 10% of the energy used for the production of one ton of synthetic fibers. The same study indicated that producing one ton of polypropylene – widely used in packaging, containers and cordage – emits into the atmosphere more than three Metric Tones of carbon dioxide; the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. In contrast, jute absorbs as much as 2.4 Metric Tones of carbon per MT of dry fiber. Similar Natural fibers such as Banana and Pineapple also are thought to have similar attributes leading to cost reductions and carbon remission. Long term environmental considerations offer one of many opportunities which could lead to the development of a vibrant and sustainable Natural Fibers business ventures within Bangladesh. Other potential benefits follow:

· Expansion of rural agro-based industries.
· Promotion of export item and foreign currency earning.
· Sustainable Employment generation in rural areas & especially for women.
· New product line development.
· Promotion of organic fertilizer (from production wastages).
· Availability and increased use of organic fertilizers.
· Import substitution, replacing cotton for some clothing items.
· Facilitate promotion of other fibers based products

Conclusion

Banana fibers have shown high variability along the length and between fibers, which is a characteristic of natural fibers. The standard deviation has been found to decrease with increasing diameter of fibers. The diameter variability had a normal distribution. The tenacity of banana fibers was a function of the testing speed. At lower strain rate, an increase in strain facilitates the amorphous to crystalline sharing of load. At higher speeds however, the faults dominate with catastrophic failure at the highest strain rates. Some of the stress strain curves showed signs of strain hardening. Banana fiber at present is a waste product of banana cultivation and either not properly utilized or partially done so. The extraction of fiber from the pseudostem is not a common practice and much of the stem is not used for production of fibers. The behavior of the fibers also gives important hint regarding their subsequent behavior as reinforcement in composites. There is scope for further research to completely characterize the banana fibers and facilitate proper applications in natural fiber reinforced composites