Bamboo boom

It's better late than never. That's probably how the World Bamboo Congress organisers look at it as the event which was supposed to be held in India in 2001, finally made it to the capital in 2004 "" between February 27 and March 4.

Tinoo Joshi, development commissioner at the handicrafts division of the ministry of textiles which organised the event, spells out the government's goal regarding the commercial uses of bamboo.

"We want to highlight and develop bamboo products on a commercial platform," she says.

On the agenda is to promote innovative uses of bamboo in road construction, flooring, furniture and pulp and paper industry besides pushing the traditional uses of bamboo in pencils, match sticks, ice cream sticks etc.

The Congress brought to light the fact that while India has not been able to promote its bamboo industry, China has leapfrogged ahead with its Anji County which boasts of over 1,000 small family-based enterprises and offers a source of livelihood to thousands of people.

China's bamboo industry today is close to Rs 26,000 crore compared to India's Rs 2,000 crore of which a negligible Rs 4-5 crore is contributed by exports. The government, however, expects India's bamboo industry to touch the Rs 26,000 crore mark by 2015.

To that end, the Planning Commission, which set up the National Mission of Bamboo Technology & Trade Development recently, has earmarked Rs 2,600 crore in the 10th Plan for development of bamboo technology and products.

It has projected an annual growth of 15-20 per cent. Worldwide, the combined value of bamboo consumption is said to Rs 50,000 crore.

Ironically, India boasts of the second largest resources of bamboo in the world at 130 million tonnes and 136 species of bamboo, yet entrepreneurs and non-governmental agencies complain that there are no bamboos available for commercial use.

While the government is looking at growing bamboo on a pilot basis, the root of the problem is that bamboo still falls under the forest law. This means that even if bamboo is grown at a commercial scale, it can't be transported or shipped anywhere.

The agriculture ministry, which has been made the nodal agency to co-ordinate the bamboo mission's development work with various ministries, is currently looking at the issue to delink bamboo as a forest produce.

Says HP Singh, former horticulture commissioner, "The first issue is allow bamboo to be grown as a horticulture crop like tea or coffee. The project will grow manifold once this is done."

While cautioning that policy and regulation framework must not get in the way of bamboo project development, Ian Hunter, secretary-general of International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, a non-profit research institution said India still has an edge because of high-quality craftsmen available in the country.

"India can come up with valuable market. Chinese design is very recognisable and Chinese," he said.

To coincide with the Congress, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is organising a Bamboo Expo, where about 55 participants are showcasing their work.

Rakesh Kumar, executive director, EPCH, says business worth Rs 20 crore has been generated by the Bamboo Expo.

"There have been enquries but we aren't sure if this is going to a be an annual feature. Besides to make the products viable for export, backend development like streamlining machinery, introducing faster production mechanism as well ability to meet volume orders has to be in place," he adds.