Corn husk business

In the past, farmers at my field site used to grow corn for consumption and sale of the kernels. Today, however, they grow it mainly for the corn husks which are worth nearly twice more than the corn itself.  Middle-men come around to the area to buy the corn husks from producers and then take them to facilities where they are bleached and exported to the United States.  I asked producers, "Do you know what the corn husks are used for?" Their answers included "they use them in the production of dollar bills" (I don't know if this is true) and "they are used to make tamales."   Here are some photographs of the corn-husk harvest and sale.