Latest reviewed evidence
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew accepts Agave sisalana Perrine and records its native range in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. EU Regulation 1007/2011 defines sisal as fibre obtained from the leaves of Agave sisalana, lists henequen and maguey separately and gives sisal a 14-percent agreed allowance for composition calculations. WCO HS 2022 Chapter 53 places raw or processed but not spun sisal within the broader heading for other vegetable textile fibres, while yarn and woven fabric are later product stages. Kenya's Fibre Crops Regulations distinguish unwashed fibre, require lot grading, same-grade bales, prescribed bale weights and grade marks, and define grades through length, colour, cleaning and defect criteria. Tanzania's sisal code separates decortication, drying, brushing, grading, baling, storage and transport controls. These are identity, classification, process and grading references—not certificates for an offered lot, proof of current availability or a live delivered price.
Tanzania sisal decorticator-efficiency floor
75
percent, minimum · Tanzania Sisal Industry Regulations code accessed 2026-09-18
Tanzania maximum time from decortication to dry fibre
12
hours · Tanzania Sisal Industry Regulations code accessed 2026-09-18
Tanzania brushing interval after lifting from drying lines
3
hours · Tanzania Sisal Industry Regulations code accessed 2026-09-18
Kenya prescribed sisal-bale weight option
50
kilograms per bale; other prescribed options are 100, 200 and 250 kilograms · Kenya Crops (Fibre Crops) Regulations current through 2022-12-31
Kenya Grade 1 minimum fibre length
3
feet, minimum; stated average 3 feet 6 inches · Kenya Crops (Fibre Crops) Regulations Fifth Schedule
Kenya Grade 2 minimum fibre length
2.5
feet, minimum · Kenya Crops (Fibre Crops) Regulations Fifth Schedule
Kenya UG minimum fibre length
2
feet, minimum · Kenya Crops (Fibre Crops) Regulations Fifth Schedule
EU sisal agreed allowance
14
percent for composition mass calculations · EU Regulation 1007/2011 consolidated 2018-02-15
Sisal identity starts with Agave sisalana leaf fibre
Kew accepts Agave sisalana Perrine, and EU Regulation 1007/2011 defines the textile-fibre name sisal through fibre obtained from its leaves. Henequen from Agave fourcroydes and maguey from Agave cantala have separate fibre names under the same regulation. Atlas retains the declared species or cultivar where material, field records and a suitable identification basis rather than treating sisal as a catch-all label for every hard Agave leaf fibre.
Leaves, line fibre, short fibre, tow, yarn and products stay separate
Green leaves are agricultural feedstock; decortication separates fibre from leaf tissue; brushing, sorting and grading produce line or short fibre; tow and other waste are separate outputs; spinning and manufacturing create yarn, twine, rope, matting or composite inputs. WCO Chapter 53 separates unspun vegetable fibre and waste from yarn and woven products. Atlas records the exact stage, recovery and transformation path and does not transfer a leaf, tow, yarn or finished-product observation directly to baled line fibre.
Decortication, washing, drying and brushing define the process record
Kenya defines unwashed sisal as fibre extracted without water during decortication. Tanzania's code calls for a decorticator efficiency of at least 75 percent, drying within 12 hours after decortication and brushing after fibre is lifted from drying lines. Those numeric references are process controls, not proof of a supplier's result. Atlas retains machine and batch, water use or unwashed status, process timestamps, drying method and weather, brushing, contamination controls, yield and inspection evidence for the exact lot.
Farm origin, factory origin and export origin remain distinct
Sisal leaves can be grown and harvested at one estate or smallholder cluster, decorticated and dried at another facility, brushed and baled elsewhere and exported through a different country or port. Kew's native-range record does not establish a traded lot's origin, and an exporter address does not replace field or processor origin. Atlas preserves farm or production unit, harvest date, factory and process dates, bale creation, storage, lot splits and merges, transporter, warehouse and export custody separately.
Length, colour, cleaning and defects belong to an inspected lot
Kenya's Fifth Schedule distinguishes grades through minimum or average length, brushing and parallel presentation, colour, tow, bunchy ends, knots, harshness, barky or undecorticated fibre and other defects. Grade 1 begins at three feet with a stated three-foot-six-inch average; Grade 2 begins at two feet six inches, while other grades use different thresholds and defect tolerances. Atlas keeps the named grade system and edition, sampling and inspection basis, measured distribution, colour and defects, inspector, date and exact lot rather than treating one grade name as globally interchangeable.
Bales, grade marks and custody preserve comparability
Kenya prescribes 50, 100, 200 or 250-kilogram sisal bales, requires lots to be graded and marked and prohibits mixing grades in a bale. It also addresses parallel packing, ties or knots, dampness and excessive baling pressure. Atlas retains gross, tare and net weight, bale count and identifiers, grade marks, package material, moisture condition, storage, seal and custody events so a nominal tonne can be reconciled to inspected bales and the correct lot.
Traceability, labor and sustainability claims need claim-specific proof
A country, estate name, fibre colour or certification logo does not by itself prove land history, legal production, worker conditions, water use, waste handling, smallholder inclusion, chain of custody or environmental performance. Atlas keeps field and processor scope, claim owner, applicable standard, audit body, certificate and transaction references, dates, mass balance and exclusions with each claim. It does not infer responsible production from botanical identity, grade, exporter reputation or a generic natural-fibre description.
A fibre definition or grade table does not establish delivered sisal value
Botanical identity, HS classification, agreed allowances, processing controls and grade tables do not establish current availability, tested conformity, transaction value or delivered cost. A defensible physical assessment still needs permitted current observations for the exact species, line fibre, short fibre or tow form, grade and tested quality, farm and processing origins, bale and custody record, quantity, currency, Incoterm, load and destination points, delivery window, freight, duties and information vintage. Atlas withholds a delivered estimate when those observations or usage rights are missing.