Sisal harvesting is done by hand whereafter the leaves are transported to a central factory. Fibre is extracted through a process known as decortication, where leaves are crushed, beaten, and brushed away by a rotating wheel set with blunt knives, so that only fibres remain. Extracted fibres are extensively washed during decortication. The fibre is then sun-dried. Dry fibres are machine combed and sorted into various grades and baled for export. Proper drying is important as fibre quality depends largely on moisture content.