23 November 2010, HA NOI — Viet Nam expects to earn US$300 million from exporting rattan and bamboo products this year, according to An Van Khanh, deputy director of the Department of Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and Salt, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Speaking at a national workshop on the development of bamboo and rattan products in the capital city yesterday, Khanh said the bamboo and rattan handicraft industry has provided jobs to 342,000 people across the country.

Currently there are 723 trade villages in Viet Nam engaged in the industry, accounting for 24 per cent of craft villages nation-wide.

Bamboo provides a source of livelihood to almost 24 million people living near forests in Viet Nam, of which more than 1million people earn direct incomes from bamboo and rattan.

A report by the Mekong Development Programme said that since 2000, export turnover of bamboo and rattan products has seen an increase of between 15 to 25 per cent on average each year. In 2007, bamboo and rattan exports reached annual turnover of $219 million. In 2009 that figure rose to $270 million and this year it is expected to reach $300 million.

According to Khanh, production in the bamboo and rattan sector uses up between 400-500 million tonnes of bamboo and 60,000-80,000 tonnes of rattan. However, every year the country has to import about 33,000 tonnes of bamboo and rattan.

At present, Viet Nam has about 1.6 million hectares of bamboo and rattan, a total area that accounts for 12.7 per cent of forest land.

Nguyen Ngoc Binh, deputy director general of the Department of Forestry said the nation would do everything possible to make sure people living near forests can share the benefits of sustainable production of forestry products, particularly from bamboo and rattan.

Binh said Viet Nam has set a target to gain about 12 per cent of the world's bamboo and rattan market share, against the current figure of 3 per cent, during the next five years.

To make sure the target is achievable, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has issued many policies to help farmers and organisations to expand land under bamboo and rattan cultivation.

"The Ministry promises to provide between VND 2-5 million ($100-250) per hectare to poor households who plant bamboo or rattan," said Binh.

In addition, the government will support farmers with money to buy seedlings for their first crop and forest owners will enjoy 100 per cent of profits from their products after paying tariffs in accordance with government requirements.

Referring to forest owners' obligations, Binh said they have to re-plant bamboo and rattan within 12 months of harvesting. In case forest owners don't plant new forest area within four years as they had agreed, they have to return money provided by the government.

Ho Xuan Hung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said bamboo and rattan were a key export product for Viet Nam.

"The sector has provided considerable assistance in helping to reduce the poverty rate in rural areas," said Hung.

In addition, the rapid growth of areas under bamboo and rattan cultivation helped to spur the pace of afforestation work, while also helping to maintain biodiversity in local ecosytems, said Hung.

Nguyen Tuan Phu, director of the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Government Office, asked the forestry sector to speed up the formulation of the national strategy on bamboo and rattan development to submit to the government for approval by 2011.

He expressed his hope that Viet Nam's bamboo and rattan would become strategic products in the domestic and international market.

The workshop attracted more than 230 participants, including delegates from the EU, US, Germany, China and India. — VNS