Surinder Sud: Bamboo's shooting potential

FARM VIEW

Bamboo is not merely the poor man's timber. It is the rich man's delicacy, too. And it is in this form that the grass has tremendous export potential, a potential that has been unexplored so far. This is mainly because the use of edible bamboo in recipes has been confined to the north-east.

Fresh, fermented and roasted bamboo shoots are considered culinary treats. They are consumed as vegetables, pickles, salads and in various other forms in several countries.

Bamboo is one of the quickest-growing commercial plants, which makes it ideally suited for promotion as a food crop for domestic consumption as well as export.

India is next only to China and Japan in its diversity of bamboo species. Of about 126 bamboo species recorded in the country, 25 are edible types and are consumed by tribal communities.

However, 16 species are commercially important and at least five have potential for export. Currently, China and Taiwan are the main exporters. But there is perceptible untapped demand for bamboo shoots in countries like Japan, Thailand, Denmark, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

In fact, the potential of edible bamboo may have gone unnoticed but for a pointed reference in a report by the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture in the 13th Lok Sabha.

This resulted in an extensive survey of the seven north-eastern states by the Meghalaya-based Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Research Complex for North-Eastern Region to record the availability, consumption, nutritional values, marketing and export potential of edible bamboo.

This investigation was conducted by the agroforestry division scientists led by B P Bhatt and K M Bujarbaruah. The findings have now been brought out in a publication to guide planning for the development of bamboo for nutritional security as also for employment and income generation through promotion of domestic consumption and exports.

Nutritional analysis of edible bamboo has revealed that it is a good source of food energy. Bamboo contains protein, fibre, minerals like calcium and phosphorous and vitamins like ascorbic acid and tryptophan, besides fat and carbohydrates.

The study estimates that Japan alone consumes between 1 and 1.4 lakh tonnes of fresh and fermented bamboo shoots every year. The annual consumption in the Bangkok area of Thailand is reckoned at over 10,000 tonnes. Australia imports about 8,000 tonnes of canned shoots annually.

However, the export markets have their own preferences as far as the shape, size and weight of bamboo shoots are concerned. From this point of view, this study has short-listed five readily available Indian bamboo species as suitable for exports. These include Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus sikkimensis, Melocanna bacciferan and Phyllostachys bambusoides.

Besides, there are other species that are suitable for particular destinations and end-uses. For instance, three Indian species have been found suitable for canning, drying and pickling for exports. These are Dendrocalamus longispathus, Dendrocalamus sikkimensis and Gigantochloa rostrata.

Similarly, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, the most widely consumed edible bamboo type in the north-east, has been found similar in quality to Dendrocalamus asper (sweet bamboo) species found in Thailand, which is deemed a superior eating species. The study report has recommended this for promotion as an export item.

India has a substantial price advantage in edible bamboo exports. The local market prices of fresh bamboo shoots during the five-month availability season is generally below Rs 10 a kg.

Of course, the prices of processed bamboo shoots, including fermented ones, are higher than this. In contrast, bamboo prices in Japan generally rule between $ 1.50 and $ 3 a kg. During the off-season, prices shoot up to between $ 4 and $ 6 a kg. Bamboo growers in China exploit this factor by artificially manipulating their shoot production season: they lay steam pipes under the soil surface in bamboo fields for this purpose.

The study estimates that 10.3 million hectares, or 12.8 per cent of the country's total forest cover, is under bamboo plantations. Among the north-eastern states, where bamboo forests abound, the largest area is in Mizoram (over 30 per cent of forest cover), followed by Meghalaya (26 per cent forest cover).

The tribal economy of all seven north-eastern states revolves generally around bamboo thanks to its multifarious uses for food, shelter, furniture, handicraft, medicines and various ethno-religious purposes.

Significantly, this study has established that bamboo plantations are commercially viable, having a highly favourable cost-returns ratio. A little push can transform this plant into a money-spinner.