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

On the other hand, the Kerala case study provides an example of the failure of
a government initiative specifically intended to link small-scale bamboo gatherers
and weavers and thereby to displace exploitative trading relationships. The cooperative
has proved inflexible and unresponsive both to the needs of its members and of the
market place, leading to inefficiency. Illegal private market mechanisms have reemerged
in parallel with the official market.
At later stages in the system, the horizontal linkages are often stronger and more
formalized. This is especially true where the final products have important export
markets. In many of the cases there are manufacturers' associations and trade
associations that provide services to their members and influence political decisions
that affect the sectors. Perhaps the strongest association is ASMINDO (the Indonesian
Furniture and Handicrafts Association), which has influence on government policy
and, with mandatory membership, wields considerable policy influence in and of
itself. For instance, the ASMINDO quality and volume restrictions on the export of
lampit (rattan mat) have had a severe negative impact on the size of the manufacturing
industry, and on demand and prices for raw and semi-processed rattan throughout
the system. In most cases, the associations are not so powerful; but they are an
important tool for providing services for collective benefit and for lobbying for change.
There are also some furniture manufacturers that are increasing their competitive
power by increasing the scale of their operations. Several of the larger outfits in the
Philippines and Indonesia have seen large-scale expansions in the past few years.
This trend drives the demand for more regular supplies and larger volumes of more
consistent (uniform) quality and raw material.
Intensification
The studies reveal that in most bamboo and rattan producing countries in the
region efforts to increase raw material productivity have been extremely limited. This
is remarkable given that raw material shortages are already being experienced. The
only cases that have seen intensification of raw material production are Anji county
and Eastern Nepal in bamboo (the latter to a much lesser extent) and Java in rattan.
The traditional rattan cultivation system in Kalimantan appears to be under threat,
with reduced rattan garden establishment and some conversion of existing rattan
gardens to other uses owing to low prices for the main cultivated species and new
competing land use opportunities.
In some cases, such as in Indonesia, the lack of attention to raw material
production has been possible because so much of their wild raw material production
was diverted from the international market to the domestic raw material market with
the 1986 ban on export of unprocessed rattan. Other major rattan products
manufacturers, such as the Philippines and China, are augmenting domestically
produced raw material supplies with imports from other rattan producers such as
Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam (often based on unsustainable harvesting),
along with continued illicit supplies of Indonesian cane. Another very important
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