The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

amboo and rattan sectors. Small-scale township and village enterprises make up the
main body of manufacturing industry, and millions of farmer households are involved
in the raw material production.
Rattan is also very important in China. Annual harvests of rattan are between
4 000 to 6 000 tons, down from a peak of 10 000 tons. Domestic production meets just
10-20% of domestic consumption. China imported over 40 000 tons of rattan in 1993
(the last year for which figures were available) at a cost of more than US$22 million.
In the same year, rattan products exports earned US$42.5 million.
The Philippine bamboo and rattan sector information base prepared by Pabuayon
and Espanto provides a comprehensive review of the secondary information. The
report is organized under four major headings: Economic, Social, Institutional and
Policy. The economic data are mostly quantitative. Rattan is by far the most important
NTFP in the Philippines. Furniture exports in 1993 earned US$114 million. Employment
in the rattan sector was estimated at over 800 000. Most people are working for wages
equal to the legislated minimum wage. The trend in the industry was dramatically
upwards till 1989. The decline since 1989 may be due to raw material constraints,
though the data are not conclusive. Rattan inventory data and a natural resource
accounting project of 1991 indicate that rattan resources have suffered continuous
depletion; severely during 1970-89 when the furniture and handicrafts industries
expanded rapidly. Retail prices for raw material have responded, shooting from P0.77
in 1970 to P31.01 for 3.5 m lengths of large diameter rattan in 1993 (US$1 = P27.90) 1 .
Bamboo is also important, though the industries are less organized and have
lower value addition. The Philippines produces nearly half a million bamboo culms
on state land, and production on private land is much greater. The bulk of the bamboo
produced is consumed domestically, but exports of bamboo and bamboo-based
products (mainly furniture) still earn over US$1.4 million. The study also provides an
excellent overview of the literature as it pertains to social, institutional and policy
aspects of the bamboo and rattan (B&R) sectors in the Philippines. This information
proved useful as background for the bamboo and rattan case studies undertaken in
the country.
The national bamboo and rattan information database of Nepal prepared by
Karki et al. found that the bamboo sector in the country is small, but strong and
growing, with 73 of the 75 districts in the country having bamboo resources. Almost
60% of the bamboo is found in natural forests. Total growing stock of bamboo was
estimated at 16 million culms, with a biomass of approximately 195 000 tons growing
on an area of around 63 000 ha. Annual production of bamboo is estimated to be 3
million culms, the bulk of which is consumed in the country. Approximately 350 000
culms are exported annually to India. The bamboo and rattan sectors are estimated
to provide employment to the tune of 100 000 workdays per year.
1 Interbank exchange rate as on 01.01.1994.
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