Other Bast Crops

Flax (Linum usitatissimum), is the same plant that produces linseed, and its fibre is used for linen and other fibre products. There is a relatively small amount of flax produced for fibre in the world (less than 1 million tons annually). In Australia, areas of linseed are grown and the fibre harvested from residue stalk.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) is a bast fibre crop, not related to hemp but similar in some of its fibre applications. Kenaf is a coarser fibre than hemp and useful in the lower grade manufacturing fibre markets such as paper, pulp boards and plastics. Kenaf is similarly a sub-tropical and tropical crop and has been trialled in Australia by the DPI and others. However, similar to hemp, it requires processing and market entry to become a viable fibre industry.

Kenaf