From 2 to 3 September 2026, a delegation organised by the Institute of Bast Fiber Crops of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IBFC, CAAS) travelled to Hainan to survey the development of the tropical natural fibre industry and international scientific cooperation. Participants included Dilipkumar Tambyrajah, Secretary-General of the International Natural Fibre Organisation (INFO); Hou Chunsheng, Deputy Director-General of IBFC and First Vice-Chair of the FAO Intergovernmental Group on Hard Fibres and Jute; Li Puwang, Director-General of the Agricultural Machinery Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS); and Yang Ziping, Director of the Sisal Research Center at CATAS's South Subtropical Crops Research Institute. Lai Weiping, Chairman of Zhanjiang Weida Machinery Industrial Co., Ltd., joined the delegation.
At the Coconut Research Institute: coir fibre and international cooperation
On 2 September, the delegation's first stop was the Coconut Research Institute of CATAS in Wenchang, where members held discussions with the institute's leadership and researchers from the Product Processing Research Laboratory. The two sides exchanged views on the processing and use of coir (coconut husk fibre), innovation and industry development in natural fibres, and the joint building of international platforms, and discussed mechanised fibre extraction and equipment upgrades in the context of whole-tree coconut utilisation. After the meeting, the delegation toured the National Tropical Palm Germplasm Nursery and other research facilities to see first-hand China's progress in coconut germplasm conservation and comprehensive utilisation research.
Inside the coconut value chain: from juice to fibre and shell
On 3 September, the delegation visited a number of processing enterprises spanning coconut food, coconut fibre and coconut-shell activated carbon, surveying how Hainan utilises the full coconut value chain.
At the coconut food company FEENOVO, the delegation toured the automated filling and packaging lines for coconut latte and freshly pressed coconut milk drinks and learned how a coconut-food smart factory operates. In the discussions, the international experts raised practical needs for assisted mechanisation in coconut harvesting, which delegation members discussed together.
At a coconut fibre processing site, the delegation inspected coir opening and loosening, baling, and a coir felt (nonwoven) production line, asking in detail about raw material handling, equipment configuration and product outlets.
At a coconut-shell activated carbon producer, the delegation learned about activated carbon production from coconut shells and downstream handicraft development, and came away impressed by Hainan's whole-chain utilisation model — "from juice and meat to fibre and shell".
Weida Machinery: serving the tropical fibre industry with equipment capability
As the only equipment-manufacturing representative in the delegation, Weida Machinery took part in the full two-day survey. At the coconut fibre processing site, Chairman Lai Weiping exchanged with experts from the international organisation and the research institutes on equipment for coir opening and carding, hydraulic baling and downstream short-fibre processing, and — drawing on the company's engineering experience in complete extraction lines for sisal, pineapple leaf and other tropical hard fibres — explored equipment solutions and cooperation opportunities for mechanised processing of Hainan coir.
This survey was a joint field visit by the International Natural Fibre Organisation together with a Chinese national research institution and an equipment manufacturer, focused on the tropical palm fibre industry, laying the groundwork for equipment R&D, producing-area connections and international cooperation in coir and other tropical natural fibres. Weida Machinery will build on this to keep advancing the development and industrialisation of tropical natural fibre primary-processing equipment, supporting the high-value use of coconut and other tropical crop by-products.
