Bamboo craft makers facing raw material shortage
Bamboo craft makers facing raw material shortage
Bamboo handicraft makers are facing a shortage of materials to meet market needs which are growing each year.
A representative of bamboo handicraft makers in Viengkham district, Vientiane province , Ms Bounmy Sikhounxay, said recently that since the end of last year bamboo supplies to handicraft makers have fallen by around 40 percent while each month the group needs about 60 percent more bamboo stems than they can get.
As bamboo is used to make economical household furniture and decorative items there is a growing need for the material which will continue well into the future.
Last month the price of bamboo ros e from 100 to 500 kip per stem, which ably illustrates the shortage of and high demand for the material.
Two to three years ago, this production group had enough bamboo to supply to all local handicraft makers but too much was being used then and too little was done about repl acing it.
“Ou r group needs more bamboo stems but the market in our district of Viengkham cannot supply our needs so we must look elsewhere and the net result is this huge price increase,” Ms Bounmy said when detailing their problem. She also expects the situation to continue for some time unless there is some assistance from the authorities, such as the Lao Handicrafts Association.
She added that the group has encouraged its members to concentrate on replanting bamboo which will take many months to grow big enough before it can be used.
Ms Bounmy believes, though, that there will still be insufficient bamboo stems to meet the growing demand in the future, causing Lao bamboo handicraft products to lose any price advantage if local supplies cannot match the handicraft makers needs which will mean further problems once Laos is part of the AEC.
She is confident these products can compete in overseas markets if local supplies of bamboo can meet requirements, so she hopes the government and the authorities will help to encourage farmers to grow many hectares of bamboo.
