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

applicant must pay royalty in advance. The 1995 royalty for collecting Batang, Lambang
and Tohiti were Rp 44, Rp 39 and Rp 39 per kg, respectively. As most rattan collectors
cannot afford this advance payment of royalties, relatively few individual licences
are granted.
In practice the bulk of the rattan trading is conducted by the cooperatives, known
as KUDs. The KUDs were set up in many villages to trade basic need goods at low
prices. As the primary local traders, they have also taken on the role of rattan traders.
The main function performed by this group are obtaining the licence for rattan
harvesting, organizing the collectors, selecting, grading, measuring and weighing
raw rattan, and selling it to semi-finished rattan processors. Some traders take loans
from semi-processing enterprises in order to make the advance rattan royalty payments
required for the licence application. This is interpreted as a contract to sell to the
same outfit.
The KUDs, designed essentially as cooperatives, are expected to provide a
mechanism to facilitate strong linkages among collectors. This kind of association
could give the rattan collectors more bargaining power, the ability to supply larger
orders in a timely fashion, and a degree of control over their enterprise. The KUDs
could assume the role of seeking out buyers, advertising and helping collectors to
understand the demands of the market so to provide better or more appropriate
products. They could also take on some semi-processing, even if only sorting, curing
or other preservation processes.
Even the better-managed KUDs tend to operate primarily as intermediaries, taking
orders from buyers (semi-processors) and organizing collectors to supply the raw
material. The study noted that some KUDs act simply as a licence trader. That is, they
apply for and receive a licence, which they then give to a mandor (coordinator of
collectors) in return for payments of up to Rp 100/kg. The mandor can then use the
licence as a basis to organize collection and sale of rattan. However, some bettermanaged
KUDs obtained licences and paid the royalties from their own resources,
independently bought rattan from collectors, and sold it to semi-processors. One such
operation was making a profit in the order of Rp 431/kg. The collectors, in effect, work
as labor, receiving little more than the value of their labor for the rattan harvested.
Most of the semi-processing enterprises are located in and around Palu, the
capital city of Central Sulawesi. The semi-processing rattan factories select, grade (by
diameter class, appearance), weigh and measure rattan. Some of the material is cured/
boiled, rubbed, dried, and fumigated with sulphur fumes for 12 hours in a closed
room. The product of this process is known as 'washed and sulphured rattan' or
'W&S rattan'. The semi-processors procure raw cane from traders, and produce
W&S rattan and a variety of polished and split products, including polished
rattan core/fitrit rattan, peel and webbing. These products are then sold as inputs
to the rattan furniture and handicrafts industries, mainly in Java. Most of the
semi-finished rattan enterprises (90%) are affiliated with rattan product manufacturers
in Java.
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