Banana fibre has good market potential

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.

Characteristics of Banana Fiber:
Banana fiber is a natural bast fiber. It has its own physical and chemical characteristics and many other properties that make it a fine quality fiber.
Banana FiberAppearance of banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but its fineness and spinnability is better than the two.
The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, 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.