Natural Fibres and the World Economy

Abstract

World natural fiber production in 2013 is estimated at 33 million tons, including 26 million tons of cotton lint, 3.3 million tons of jute, 1.2 million tons of clean wool, 900,000 tons of coir, and 1.6 million tons of other natural fibers, including abaca, flax, hemp, kapok, ramie, sisal, and silk. The farm value of natural fiber production in 2013 was around US$60 billion. A reasonable estimate of total employment in natural fiber industries, including family labor, hired labor and employment in industries providing services to agriculture, and including both full time year round employment and part time or seasonal employment is around 60 million households or 300 million people, or about 4 % of the world’s population.