Transmaterial has a post on a new type of bioplastic the incorporates kenaf fibres - Kenaf-Reinforced Bioplastic.

The current rapid depletion of petroleum resources has led to the search for renewable alternatives. One response is the development of bioplastic, made of plant-derived materials (biomass). A substitute for petroleum-based materials, biomass-based materials have distinct advantages, such as the ability to reduce the CO2 gas that causes global warming and superior degradability (biodegradability) in the soil after disposal.

Dr. Masatoshi Iji and his laboratory at NEC Corporation have developed a new composite material comprised of kenaf fiber–reinforced polylactic acid. With a 90 percent biomass content, it boasts the highest biomass-based content of any current bioplastic material used for electronic equipment. Kenaf is a plant originally grown in Africa, with one of the highest rates of CO2 absorption of any plant. (Its photosynthesis rate is 3 to 9 times higher than that of ordinary plants resins, and it is capable of absorbing approximately 1.4 tons of CO2 per ton.) It is very effective in mitigating the effects of global warming and is currently being grown on other continents for its beneficial properties.

Kenaf-Reinforced Bioplastic was recently used for the casing of a Japanese mobile phone, which was the first phone in the world with a casing made mostly of bioplastic. The casing was produced without thick pigments or additional coatings, subtly revealing the kenaf fibers.

Farm Online reports that the Queensland Kenaf industry has been "boosted by new investment", with the hope that the crop will be used as a bioplastic feedstock.

State Trade Minister John Mickel said the NTA Group, owned by Nature Trust of Japan, recently completed construction of a factory at Childers and has Japanese and Australian patents pending for a machine to separate the bark and core of the kenaf plant. In alliance with Isis Central Sugar Mill, NTA is already growing more than 150 hectares of kenaf at Childers.

"The factory, which will employ 10 people on a full-time basis, is expected to produce fibre and core from the kenaf when it reaches full production capacity," Mr Mickel said. "Kenaf fibre can be used as an environmentally friendly bioplastic product, and, with high growth and CO2 absorption rates, its products complement the Queensland Government's policies supporting environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture." ...

NTA has identified kenaf for use as garden mulch and has already started producing high water-holding capacity kenaf mulch at its factory.

I'd never heard of Kenaf, but it turns out this is a polite word for "hemp", which has a long history of firm support (and even more firm suppression) as a crop for both industrial and recreational uses. Apparently Kenaf is also the optimal material for making paper, though its use in this area (in Australia) has been hamstrung by the catch-22 situation of no growers wanting to produce a crop for which no pulp mill exists, and no paper manufacturer wanting to build a plant in the north for which no feedstock is currently being grown.

The Queensland Government has a guide to kenaf production in north Queensland, noting it would "fit well in the sugar farming system as an income-producing fallow crop".