BAMBU

BAMBOO

(GUADUA ANGUSTIFOLIA) GIANT AMERICAN BAMBOO

PRODUCTS PROFILE

PROJECT CORPEI CBI EXPORTABLE SUPPLY EXPANSION

OF ECUADOR

AUGUST, 2001

INDEX

1. GENERAL INFORMATION 2. NATIONAL FOCUS 2.1 Production 2.1.1 Areas of cultivation 2.1.2 Area, production and yield 2.1.3 Varieties 2.1.4 Cultivation season 2.1.5 Value chain 2.1.6 Production destination (local demand vs. exports) 2.1.7 Production structure (small, med and large) 2.1.8 Production costs 2.1.9 Certifications 2.2 Exportation 2.2.1 Evolution of exports during the 1995-2000 period (fob value and volume) 2.2.2 Countries of destination 2.2.3 Seasonality of the Ecuadorian supply 2.2.4 Representativity of the sector within the Ecuadorian exports 2.2.5 Main exporters 2.2.6 Exporting logistic 2.2.7 Prices 2.2.8 Trade associations 2.2.9 Cooperation agencies

3. INTERNATIONAL FOCUS 3.1 Supply 3.1.1 Exporting global analysis 3.1.1.1 Evolution of exports during the 1995-2000 period (fob value and volume) 3.1.1.2 Participation of Ecuador in the world context 3.1.2 Main exporting countries 3.1.2.1 Main destinations 3.2 Demand 3.2.1 Global analysis of imports 3.2.1.1 Evolution of exports during the 1998-2000 period (fob value) at global level 3.2.2 Principal importing countries 3.2.2.1 Principal world providers 3.2.2.2 Tariff and phytosanitary barriers 3.2.2.3 Prices

4. SOWT ANALYSIS 3.3.1 Strengthens 3.3.2 Opportunities 3.3.3 Weaknesses 3.3.4 Threatens 5. CONCLUSIONS 6. PROCESSING CHOICES 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. GENERAL INFORMATION BAMBOO, A ASLEEPY GIANT Bamboo has been known since early epochs, but we believe that during the XXI century it will no longer be a local-use and low cost material, but an industrialized one, worldwide recognized. Its multiple uses and applications have been extended until our time, and although it is an excellent renewable resource that can substantially contribute to rural economies as well as bring economical benefits to most Latin American countries, its use has been limited to artisan management in rural and indigenous communities. On the other hand, IN countries like Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica the bamboo has had an industrial development, specially in the construction field, furniture manufacturing and paper manufacturing sectors; this lately one related with the Bambusa vulgris variety (Brazil), performing a prominent role in local economies, like is coffee in Colombia or the provinces of Guayas and Manabi in Ecuador. BOTANICS AND DISTRIBUTION Taxonomically bamboo belongs to the Poaceae family, the Bambusoideae subfamily, and the Guadua genus; however, it is known with its scientific name Guadua Angustifolia, which has 30 species in all the American continent countries, spread from 23 grades north latitude in San Luis de Potosi (Mexico) through 35 grades south latitude in Argentina. This gramineae reaches its maximum height (30 meters and 22 cm diameter) in six months, and is one the the three larger bamboos of the world, surpassed just by two Asiatic species: the Dendrocalamus Giganteus and the Demdrocalamus Sinicus. COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES VS. OTHER KIND OF WOODS Bamboo is a versatile, renewable and sustainable resource; which means that it reproduces in a vegetative way. It grows very fast, and reports growths of up to 10 cm per day. Such growth have never been surpassed by timber-yielding species. Bamboo extremely retains carbon and it has strong natural fibers which allow to develop industrialized products such as agglomerates, laminates, floors, panels, mattings, pulp and paper, i.e., high quality products to be offered in local and international markets. It is important to remark its structural properties like the resistance/weight ratio, higher than most kind of woods, which could be compared with iron and with several high tech fibers. The bamboo capacity to absorb energy and admit greater flexion makes it ideal for seismic-resistant constructions. BIOLOGICAL CYCLE As forestry resource, bamboo is a fast growing specie: around 10 cm/day during 120 first days, where it stops growing; thus, allowing high yields in small time (it ripens in 4-5 years), becoming a profitable investment that warrants a sustainable economic income.

During first months bamboo juts out with its definite diameter covered with some thick, brown leaves (cauline leaves) that protect it and begins a race for reaching its final height with which it eliminates its protection and first branches begin to grow; this stage is called youthful or green. Lately, wood became hard as days go by until becoming a mature bamboo. 2. NATIONAL FOCUS 2.1 Production 2.1.1 Areas of cultivation WHERE TO SOW Bamboo develops in an optimum way in areas with the following characteristics: Climate Temperature The ideal temperature for culturing bamboo is 20C to 30C. When it gets apart from these temperatures, its diameter and height get reduced, adversely affecting at lower temperatures than 18C. Height Both in Colombia and Ecuador the Guadua Angustifolia grows in areas from 0 to 1,800 meters above sea level, but the optimum development is obtained in places at 0 to 100 meters above sea level: Bucay and Olon, among others. Pluviometric precipitation (rains falls) Bamboo grows in those areas where precipitation ranges from 200 to 2,500 mm per year. On the contrary, when precipitation is lower than 1,000 mm per year, its development decreases considerably. During long non-rainy periods it can stand precipitations up to 3,000 mm/year. Relative humidity Bamboo needs zones where relative humidity is between 75% and 80%. Solar brightness Brightness falls directly on bamboo development. A brightness of 1,800 to 2,000 hours/light/year (5 to 6 hours/light/day)is needed. Soils Physical characteristics

The following types of soils are suitable for culturing bamboo: sandy-muddy, loam, loam-sandy, and loam-muddy. Ideal soils are those with thick and med textures. Heavy or clay soils are not suitable for developing bamboo. Moreover, soils rich in organic material, good drainage, humid but not subject to flooding are the best ones for the purpose. The best places which accomplish this characteristics in Ecuador, are: Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Santa Ana, Bucay, Balzar and Quevedo. HOW TO CULTURE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BAMBOO Distance between each plant: 5 x 5 meters. Crown: 1.5 meters. Hole: 40 x 40 x 40 cm. Fertilization: The best system for determining a sound fertilization is performing a soil analysis and a foliar analysis so as to know the doses to be applied in relation to availability vs. requirements. Bamboo needs high concentrations of nitrogen. ADVANTAGE OF BAMBOO Lack of an appropriate management of bamboo plantations results in a poor advantage of the resource. Each cane has its own characteristics, therefore, its management is specific. Advantage Technical advantages are based on extraction of certain percentage of matured bamboos, for what a deep knowledge of bamboo phases development is needed. The bamboo development phases are: Shoots This phase goes since shoot emerges until it reaches its maximum height; the process takes form 150 to 180 days, characterized by the absence of upper leaves, the stem is full of cauline leaves, steam knots are very green and have two white bands around them. Shoots shall never be cut. Young, green or viche bamboo During this phase the bamboo eliminates cauline leaves, specially those of the upper part, new branches appear and foliage increases progressively. At this stage, Bamboo remains green with white bands on the knots. Matured or screwed bamboo The stem gets a dark green color which is covered by white spots, and there are no cauline leaves. At this point white bands of knots are not distinguished any more. This stage is reached at 3.5 to 4.5 years after shoots appeared. These are the ones to be cut and used.

Dried or old bamboo At this stage bamboo does not have foliage and its stem has a whitening-yellowed color. When bamboo plantations have been correctly managed, there is no chance to find dried bamboo; if so, they are useful for firewood only. This stage is reached when shoots are 5 years old. Dried ones shall be eliminated. BAMBOO PROPAGATION There are two methods for bamboo propagation: Sex propagation (seed) When bamboo seeds are collected in order to get seedlings from them. This is a difficult method because bamboo flowering is sporadic and it does not has uniform cycles; moreover, seedlings produced under this method does no have sound growing and development characteristics. Asexual propagation Under this method, certain parts of the plant are collected in order to use them as sowing material: roots, entire or cut stalks, branches or part of them and shoots (chusquines), that appear when bamboo is in a usable stage. The chusquines method is the best one because it can be grouped together, provides good vegetal material and is of fast and economic application. They can be sown both directly in fields or in nurseries. PROPAGATION OF BAMBOO STARTING FROM CHUSQUINES What is a chusquin? The word chusquin was adopted in Colombia due to its similarity with first growing stages of chusque (Andean bamboo) seedlings with a basal sprout of bamboos rhizome. Rhizome is known among rural people like caiman, alligator and small donkey. Chusquines begin to grow from rhizomes basal sprouts after two or three months from bamboo air stalk cut. They are, thus, 30 cm height small seedlings, with just one stalk and few leaves. For chusquin extraction for propagating purposes, seedlings shall be chosen from health and strong bamboo plantations. Propagation proceeding Seedlings shall be planted in plastic bags filled with good quality soil one seedling per bag in a shadowed place. They must be constantly irrigated. Those that took root shall be sown in propagation banks at 0.40 m between furrows and 0.30 between plants. After three months, sowed chusquines can generate about 5 different sizes, diameters and heights shoots, all of them suitable to be transplanted. Later on, soil shall be dug up and chusquines must be removed and immediately placed in water containers in order to avoid dehydration. Then, in a shadowed place shoots are

trimmed from seedlings and planted in the corresponding plastic bags. The lesser the dehydration level, the higher the percentage the chusquines takes root. From taken root chusquines, the best ones are selected for continuing the reproduction cycle. Transplanted chusquines are transported to a green house-conditions-environment (30C and 70-80 humidity percentage), where yield could reach a 90%. 2.1.2 Area, production and yield Bamboo production per hectare Upon a forestry inventory on an average bamboo plantation, we found out the following structural frame: 500 shoots, 1,000 green, 2,000 matured and 50 dried. Of these 4,000 units, first 1,500 are considered young and the remaining 2,500 are considered tradable. A sound advantage of bamboo plantations which do not attempt against its development but improves its natural generation is the one that extracts 50% of tradable bamboos, i.e., 1,250 of each turn, which ranks between 18-24 months according to each round regeneration capacity, assessed by means of a forestry inventory. In order to avoid bamboo plantations weakening, 50% of the plantation shall be left irremovable in order to protect young bamboos from winds. A very important aspect when cutting, is selecting plants properly in order to avoid leaving large empty spaces here and there. Moreover, each bamboo must be cut at the first knot level so as to avoid water accumulation that could rotten rhizomes and kill the whole plant. How must bamboo be preserved? General Information In order that bamboo can resist the attack of xylophagous and other kind of bugs, and keep its shape free of cracks or deformations, it is necessary to take care of its sound preservation and dryness. There are several procedures both natural and chemicals, we will show the most easy one and the most expensive one. Procedure a) Bamboo selection and felling Selected bamboo shall have maturity characteristics, i.e., more than four years old; it is easy to know the ones to be harvested just taking a look its salk has a dark green color and some white lichens. Selected stalk is cut above first lower knot. Once cut, it is leaned on neighbor bamboos during 2-3 weeks, then they are placed horizontally on the ground in order to remove their branches. b) Bamboo transportation and first drying Bamboo shall be transported without suffering crushing. Then it is placed in covered places, far away from humidity. They shall be placed in horizontal position in a transversal way for taking advantage of air circulation.

When bamboo presents lower than 20% humidity, its chemical preservation shall begin. c) Chemical preservation A borax (1 kg) and water (50 liters) solution is prepared, inside which bamboos to be preserved are placed; these have to formerly be punched on its central partition with a sharp metallic tool of 12 mm diameter. Bamboo shall stay inside the aforementioned solution no more than 24 hours, time after which they are drained and dried. Some technicians suggest not to brake internal partition but to make two holes between each knot with a 1/|6 drill. Perforations must be done near each partition in both sides of the internode. d) Final Drying There are a few drying procedures. The cheapest is the one performed outdoors in shadowed places. Canes are then placed in spaces were humidity is lower than 15%. 2.1.3 Varieties For most people, all canes are the same. However, there are 1,200 bamboo varieties worldwide (figure varies according to each author), from which just a few are available for handicrafts purposes. Bamboo is a graminaceous and have large flowering periods of time (20-150 years). This method makes difficult its identification, as flowers are important for the process, thus, seeds are scarce, for what it is necessary to reproduce them by dividing plants. It is important to highlight that materials and handicrafts made up of bamboo are quite different one from another, basically on what is referred to resistance, durability and flexibility. Lifetime, cut epoch and treatment also influences on its characteristics. Used varieties in our typical handicrafts are exotic ones, basically originated from East.

BAMBUSACEAS

Phyllostachis aurea Tacuarita- Tacuara- Gasan chiku East of China 10 to 70 mm

Bambusa tuldoides Bamboo- Take China 20 to 60 mm

Phyllostachis nigra Black cane - Kuro chiku Taiwan, China 10 to 60 mm

Arundinaria amabilis Japanese cane- Tonkin China, Japan 10 to 35 mm

Phyllostachis bambusoides Cane from India - Madake China and India 40 to 130 mm

Arundinaria japonica Japan 5 to 20 mm

Phyllostachis heterocycla pubescens Moso China 60 to 150 mm

Chusquea culeou Colihue South Argentina and Chile 10 to 35 mm

Bambusa vulgaris Giant bamboo Japan 40 to 120 mm

Guadua angustifolia Tacuaruzu o Tacuara guazu Tropical America 60 to 180 mm

Bambusa vulgaris vitatta Yellow bamboo South of China 40 to 120 mm

Pleioblastus fortunei Shima dake - Chigo sasa Japan 7 to 20 mm

Gen. Sp. Cattail, Bolivian cane or Chuki Bolivia, Titicaca lake 7 to 25 mm

Bambusa Sp. Long bamboo 15 to 40 mm

Most used bamboo variety cultured in Ecuador is Guadua Angustifolia, better known as brave cane or cane. Moreover, for many years it has been growing wildly in the country. What is expected nowadays is to manage resources technically, as well as take advantage of the wild resource. 1.4 Cultivation Season The ideal period for sowing bamboo is after winter time because there is lower amounts of water and it could adversely affect plantations. 1.5 Value Chain Introduction We have take a complete value chain company, which goes from the bamboo production up to a final product commercialization.

TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSPORTATION TO THE FACTORY Bamboos are extracted from natural forests and their original cylindrical shape is changed by longitudinally cutting, in situ, their stalks in order to obtain a cane table, better known as chopped cane. In Colombia it is known as rush matting. The process is done by using manual tools: machetes and axes. This procedure provides double immediate benefits because it creates labor for rural people and it allows a larger loading in transportation units. TECHNOLOGICAL PROCEDURE The technological process begins in extracting places and continues up to storehouses, located inside the factories. BAMBOO TRANSFORMATION IN FACTORIES Chopped bamboo is selected and stored for later use.

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2.1.6 Production destination (local demand vs. exports) Domestic main purchasers are those companies devoted to construction of bamboo houses as well as manufacturing parquet and provisioning wood and cane. Peru is our main importing country. 2.1.7 Production structure (small, med and large)

SMALL MED LARGE 1-50 hectares 51-150 hectares from 151 on

WILD SOWED

18000 hectares 4000 hectares NOTE: Due to lack of an official census, it is not possible to detail a complete hectare. 2.1.8 Production costs Costs vary according to:

Land owning Enough capital Area where it is going to be cultured, due to labor costs Total hectares to be sowed, because the more hectares planted, the less the costs

are Bear in mind the installation of own nurseries for reducing chusquines costs, and

have the chance to sell the remaining ones.

SEE AVERAGE COSTS IN ANNEXES. 2.1.9 Certifications At present, just local certifications and requirements are needed for exporting bamboo. MANAGED PLANTATION

Property location Land legalization process Personal identification document Plan of the place bamboo is to be sowed Inspection of the property by officials of the nearest technical office Deposits of $15 for inspections, $6 for cutting program approval and $6 for cut

license approval Pay $1 per each mobilization guide Pay $75 for exporting licenses, prior the exporting license requirement.

WILD PLANTATIONS

All abovementioned requirements, and Pay the mountain buffer zone fee.

Source: Ministry of Environment. Phones: 2-563-481 / 2-563-429 / 2-563-430 2.2 EXPORTATION 2.2.1 Evolution of exports during the 1995-2000 period (fob value and volume)

Ecuadorian Bamboo ExportsFOB Value - Thousand $

34,0222,90

58,24 52,33

95,39

-

20,00

40,00

60,00

80,00

100,00

120,00

TOTAL 58,24 22,90 34,02 52,33 95,39

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Source: Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE)

Country of Destination Bamboo Exports 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Peru 58,24 22,60 33,60 52 59,64 Canada 0,42 Norway 0,03 U.S. 0,30 0,33 0,03 Germany 35,70 TOTAL 58,24 22,90 34,02 52,33 95.4

Ecuadorian Bamboo ExportsValues in MT

883,48

533,26

409,82

1.104,49

979,90

-

200,00

400,00

600,00

800,00

1.000,00

1.200,00

TOTAL 883,48 409,82 533,26 979,90 1.104,49

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Source: Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) Following graphs show main countries of destination; exports figures are in FOB values and MT. During the year 2000 the larger importing country was Peru $227,000) followed by Germany ($36,000). Bamboo is exported basically in the form of raw material -just cut (like shown in the graph). 2.2.2 Countries of destination

FOB VALUES THOUSAND DOLLARS - MT GERMANY U.S. NORWAY PERU CANADA US$ MT FOB/

MT US$ MT FOB/

MT US$ MT FOB/

MT US$ MT FOB/

MT US$ MT FOB/

MT 1996 58.24 883,48 0.06 1997 0.30 6,82 0.04 22.60 403 0.05 1998 33.60 525 0.06 0.42 8,26 0.051999 0.33 3,90 0.08 52.00 976 0.05 2000 35.70 1,47 24 0.03 0,02 1.5 0.03 0,01 3 59.64 1.103 0.05 TOTAL 35.70 1,47 24 0.36 10.74 1.62 0.03 0,01 3 226.08 3890.48 0.27 0.42 8,26 0.05

Source: Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE)

2.2.3 Seasonality of the Ecuadorian supply Ecuador has no problem in this matter, because bamboo is cultured all year long. 2.2.4 Representativity of the sector within the Ecuadorian exports SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELFARE Bamboo technical cultivation allows communities to sell by-products, thus they increase their incomes. This kind of cultivation is a positive environmental impact one because water sources and currents are preserved, soil is protected and refuge is provided to related fauna and flora.

When sowing bamboo several benefits can be obtained:

Conversion of unused soil in productive land by reforesting it with this specie. Environmental conservation by erosion control. Incidence on water regime and climatic conditions, as well as regulation on

water quantity and quality for human consumption. Improvement of socioeconomic situation as well as life quality of communities

in the buffer zone. Recovery and strengthen of bamboo culturing.

2.2.5 Main exporters

EXPORTERS: 2000/01 - 2000/11 PERIOD Code Description Exporter

1401100000 BAMBU UGALDECARGO CIA. LTDA. RIVAS SAMANIEGO OBDULIO

IMPORTADORA-EXPORTADORA BRIGGETTH COFIMSA S.A. CITIQUIL S.A. NIYONCORP S.A.

Source: Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) EXPORTING LOGISTICS Source: FORESA, Jorge Cifuentes

Providers

Factory

Selection of shrunk cane

Cane processing

Packing

Transportation to ports

Countries of destination

PRICES Following are benchmark prices for local markets.

SALES PRICES - DOLLARS Foot 0.15 0.206 meters cane 0.50 0.706 meters chopped cane 0.80 1.0Wastes 0.25 0.30

Source: Luis Fernando Botero

2.2.8 Trade associations ASSOCIATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF BAMBOO - ECUABAMBU1 One of the main objectives is developing bamboo cultivation, specially the Angustifolia specie, whose production and technical area shall generate an important economical development and labor force, thus, it could control the countrys poverty. Moreover, promoting the bamboo forestation and reforestation is an important mechanism for defending our environment. Ecuabambu bears also in mind to promote the development of bamboo products and by-products markets and commercialization channels, both national and international ones. On the other hand, use of bamboo will allow to create an important governmental infrastructure, specially in the education and health areas. 2.2.9 Cooperation agencies INBAR The International Network of Bamboo and Cane (INBAR), is an intergovernmental organization settled in 1997 by means of a 1998 treaty. This treaty was signed by 10 countries: Bangladesh, Canada, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Peru and Tanzania. INBARs mission is to improve bamboo and cane social, economic and scientific benefits. In order to solve population and environmental problems it also supports and coordinates programs related with scientific and technological researches, as well as sustainable development programs. The INBAR programs create a linking system between partners from the government, academic sector and private sector that posses wide knowledge on technology in order to improve directly people welfare in developing countries, now and in the future. Financial support for INBAR projects comes from the governments of China and Holland, as well as from the Research International Center for Development (IDCR) in Canada and the International Foundation for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

1 Source: Dr. Nicolas Naranjo-Borja, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ECUABAMBU, [email protected], Phone: 593-2-236056, Fax: 593-2-239811, Address: Av. 6 de Diciembre N26-158 y San Ignacio, Edf. Famer, 2do. Piso, Oficina 2B, P.O.Box 17-12-737, Quito- Ecuador.

The main INBAR www.inbar.org.sg programs are:

Natural resources and plantations control. Use and engineering applications practice. Usage in environment programs. Genetic resources, conservation and use. Acceleration and socio-economical development. Information spread and technology transfer. Development of informative networks. Source: INBAR

3. INTERNATIONAL FOCUS 3.1 Supply 3.1.1 Exporting global analysis The larger bamboo producing and exporting country is China; i.e., the international market leader, because it possesses large land extensions and accounts with high tech and financial resources for researching purposes. Moreover, it has low labor costs and exploiting knowledge with higher added value. It is followed by Taiwan, that has the same resources, except sowing land extensions. Ecuador has to search those market niches that need our variety; i.e., handicrafts, parquet; therefore, trained people in this area will be necessary. The main problem Ecuador has is lack of handicrafts designs standardization, and ignorance of how to preserve bamboo quality from climate when transporting to other countries. 3.1.1.1 Evolution of exports during the 1995-2000 period (fob value and volume)

EVOLUTION OF EXPORTACIONES TO THE U.S. FOB VALUES - DOLLARS

3.444.944

11.180.165

3.590.604

0

2.000.000

4.000.000

6.000.000

8.000.000

10.000.000

12.000.000

1998 1999 2000

Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

1998 1999 2000 CHINA 3,590,000 3,444,000 4,144,000 THALAND 373 414 247 TAIWAN 206 248 399 INDONESIA 16 104 12 JAPAN 6 175 14 MEXICO 2,9 2,8 5,2 TOTAL 3,590,604 3,444,944 11,180,165 Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

On the above table the 1998-2000 period FOB values are shown, which include the largest bamboo exporting countries to the U.S. (the main purchasing country). Besides, China it is the main exporting country worldwide, which during last three years exported 11,178 million dollars, followed by Taiwan with 1,034 million dollars. On the other hand, Mexico is the larger Latin American exporting country, accounting for 11 million dollars. 3.1.1.2 Participation of Ecuador in the world context

WORLD COUNTRY 1998 1999 2000 RANKING 100% 100% 100%

1 CHINA 77.64 74.48 80.142 TAIWN 4.45 5.37 6.553 THAILAND 8.06 8.94 4.784 JAPAN 1.31 3.79 2.705 INDONESIA 3.47 2.25 2.326 MXICO 0.62 0.61 1.017 AFRICA 0.30 0.00 0.608 FRANCE 0.57 0.58 0.329 HONG KONG 2.33 0.93 0.2910 VIETNAM 0.43 0.82 0.2611 COSTA RICA 0.50 0.74 0.2512 MYANMAR 0.19 0.27 0.2513 INDIA 0.13 0.13 0.2014 SOUTH KOREA 0.00 0.00 0.1415 MALAYSIA 0.00 0.00 0.1016 ECUADOR 0.00 0.00 0.0617 UK 0.00 0.52 0.0518 COLOMBIA 0.00 0.26 0.0019 NETHERLANDS 0.00 0.00 0.0020 GERMANY 0.00 0.00 0.0021 ITALY 0.00 0.05 0.0022 PHILIPPINES 0.00 0.13 0.0023 MACAU 0.00 0.12 0.00

Source: The World Trade Atlas / 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports / USDC, Bureau of the Census.

During the year 2000 Ecuador was ranked in the 16 place and accounted for incipient exports; but it is a med-term potential important exporting country as there are high expectancies for culturing this gramineous. On the other hand, it is expected to harvest about 1,200 hectares within next two years. 3.1.2 Main exporting countries

FOB VALUE MILLION US$

WORLD COUNTRY 1998 1999 2000 RANKING 4.624 4.625 5.171

1 CHINA 3.590 3.444 4.14442 TAIWN 0.206 0.248 0.3393 THAILAND 0.373 0.414 0.2474 JAPAN 0.060 0.175 0.1405 INDONESIA 0.160 0.104 0.1206 MXICO 0.029 0.028 0.0527 AFRICA 0.014 0.000 0.0318 FRANCE 0.026 0.027 0.0179 HONG KONG 0.108 0.043 0.01510 VIETNAM 0.020 0.038 0.01311 COSTA RICA 0.023 0.034 0.01312 MYANMAR 0.009 0.012 0.01313 INDIA 0.006 0.006 0.01014 SOUTH KOREA 0.000 0.000 0.00715 MALAYSIA 0.000 0.000 0.00516 ECUADOR 0.000 0.000 0.00317 UK 0.000 0.024 0.00318 COLOMBIA 0.000 0.012 0.00019 NETHERLANDS 0.000 0.000 0.00020 GERMANY 0.000 0.000 0.00021 ITALY 0.000 0.002 0.00022 PHILIPPINES 0.000 0.006 0.00023 MACAU 0.000 0.005 0.000

Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census In the table from above, China is shown to be the main world exporting country, followed by Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Mexico (the main Latin American exporting country). Ecuador, however, is on place 16, and Colombia, although having 50,000 sowed hectares (double than Ecuador) is on place 18 because all bamboo production is consumed locally, basically due to their exporting problems caused by terrorism and drug trafficking. 3.1.2.1 Main destinations Main destination country is the U.S.; moreover, United States is the principal purchaser of bamboo with added value.

3.2 Demand 3.2.2 Global analysis of imports The main purchasing country is the U.S., that imported $22,000 millions, being China its main provider: 11,178 millions, followed by Thailand: $1,034 millions, Taiwan: $793 millions and Japan: $195 millions (total exports during last three years). The Asiatic countries are their main providers, as they account for large producing bamboo plots. Mexico is the main Latin American exporting country, which during last three years, sold $1,000,000 to the U.S. 3.2.1.1 Evolution of exports during the 1998-2000 period (fob value) at global level

U.S. IMPORTS' EVOLUTION US$ - FOB VALUES

3.444.944

11.180.165

3.590.604

0

2.000.000

4.000.000

6.000.000

8.000.000

10.000.000

12.000.000

1998 1999 2000

Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 3.2.2 Principal importing countries The main importing country is the U.S. This country is the principal purchaser of added value bamboo, followed by the EU. Our main purchaser is Peru, where we have sell high volumes of bamboo during last five years.

MAIN PROVIDERS TO PERU

Thousand US$ Metric Tons Econ. zones 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 World 792 1028 576 487 253 9697 15581 9174 6126 3277 Chile 10 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0

China 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Colombia 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 12 Ecuador 778 1025 575 484 247 9687 15580 9174 6124 3264 U.S. 1 2 2 4 5 0 1 1 2 1 Hong Kong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Taiwan, Province of China

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Source: www.comunidadandina.org

EU MARKET

SOURCE: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

Main providers to the EU Total in thousand $ China 14603 Thailand 2722 Holland 721 Belgium 530 Germany 308 Singapore 829 United Kingdom 382 Taiwn 224 Turkey 141 Spain 199 Italy 191 Indonesia 253 Switzerland 298 Japan 104 Others 1457

EU Bamboo Imports in 1999 - Thousand $

21505,3088

1457,9871

Principales proveedoresOtros

PP

Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

Main providers to the EU

MT

China 23872Thailand 9718Hollanda 703Belgium 524Germany 338Singapore 327United Kingdom 296Taiwan 277Turkey 276Spain 266Italy 162Indonesia 143Switzerland 141Japan 42Others 2389

EU Bamboo Imports during 1999 - MT

37085

2389


Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

Main providers to the EU

Thousand $

China 14054 Thailand 3516 Hollanda 744 Belgium 984 Germany 190 Singapore 563 United Kingdom 217 Taiwan 402 Turkey 6 Spain 79 Italy 92 Indonesia 181 Switzerland 59 Japan 52 Others 1119

EU Bamboo Importsduring 2000 - thousand $

21140,0446

1119,8511



Main providers to the EU Total in MT China 24003 Thailand 11400 Hollanda 657 Belgium 1818 Germany 225 Singapore 230 United Kingdom 177 Taiwan 509 Turkey 14 Spain 79 Italy 63 Indonesia 124 Switzerland 17 Japan 48 Others 1529

EU Bamboo Imports during 2000 - MT

39364

1529

Principalesproveedores

Otros



The above graphics show that bamboo imports are going downward from $22,963 to $22,259, while production grows from 39,474 MT to 40,893 MT.

EU Bamboo Imports - 1999-2000 PeriodThousand US$

22963,2959

22259,8957

21800

22000

22200

22400

22600

22800

23000

23200

Ao 1999 Ao 2000

EU Bamboo Imports - 1999-2000 PeriodMetric Tons

39474

40893

38500

39000

39500

40000

40500

41000

Ao 1999 Ao 2000

3.2.2.1 Principal world providers

FOB VALUES MILLION US$ WORLD COUNTRY 1998 1999 2000

RANKING 4.624 4.625 5.171 1 China 3.590 3.444 4.1444 2 Taiwan 0.206 0.248 0.339 3 Thailand 0.373 0.414 0.247 4 Japan 0.060 0.175 0.140 5 Indonesia 0.160 0.104 0.120 6 Mexico 0.029 0.028 0.052

Source: The World Trade Atlas 140110 plaiting bamboos U.S. general imports U.S Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census The above table shows the larger bamboo providing countries. The largest one is China, followed by Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Mexico (the largest one in Latin America). 3.2.2.2 Tariff and phytosanitary barriers At present there is no problem for entering bamboo in countries of destination. See Certifications, in section 1.9. 3.2.2.3 Prices

BENCH MARK PRICES Country CIF Price - US$ Size

Peru 2.57 6m Chile 5* 6m Source: Alejandro Gilabert *Preserved 4. SOWT ANALYSIS 4.1 Strengthens

An important commodity in international markets as an exotic and exclusive one.

Is a versatile product, with which many useful things can me made (kitchen

utensils, accessories, jewelry, bathroom utensils, furniture, among others).

Fast production, 3.5 to 4.5 years, along with a sustainable management.

Develops job positions.

Recovery of rural peoples ancestral cultural identity and artistic basis of

Ecuador (worriers, fishermen and natural medicine, among others). Expansion process by means of strategic associations and alliances.

4.2 Opportunities

Focus market niches for bamboo industrialization purposes, because Ecuador is not generating added value.

Enlarging and improving production ability in other areas and products

(professional job).

Colombia, although having large land extensions, is not developing processes for exporting end product, resulting in an advantage for Ecuador.

Duly trained and following permanent processes, Ecuadorian artisans will

improve their creative capacity. 4.3 Weaknesses

Lack of commodity production, price and distribution channels capacity. No design, no design methodology.

No line production, nor standardization.

Lack of productive culture and conscience for what is related with manufactured

goods.

Lack of permanent training, systematization and production processes.

High deforestation of wild channels.

Inappropriate use of the resource.

Bad technical management in exporting activities.

Local consumers see the product as a bad quality one.

Lack of research on wild channels in the country.

It is necessary to hire a taxonomist from abroad in order to identify different bamboo genus species (about 30) as well as sub-species of the country.

4.4 Threatens

Weighting artisan working characteristics to industrial consumption industrial capacity.

Historical problems.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Ecuador exports bamboo without much added value to Peru, our main purchaser at present. It is important to highlight that not all Ecuadorian exports are registered in the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE).

Up to the moment, local market is attractive, basically because demand is higher

than supply. On the other hand, building bamboo houses is the main item in the local market.

Larger producing and exporting country is China.

Larger purchasing country is the EU ($23,872,872).

Many Ecuadorian companies are trying to export their product, and by now they

do not want to work any other kind of bamboo product, for what they are improving quality to become competitive.

Bamboo is an attractive and exotic product, therefore it has lots of commercial

opportunities: it can be used in many things with added value, it is anti-seismic, and it reproduces faster than any other traditional timber-yielding specie.

6. PROCESSING CHOICES

Housing construction Soil protection Struts Banana supports Domestic utensils Packaging Office utilitarians

BAMBOO PLANTATION (4 years old)

BAMBOO SOFA

BAMBOO SOFA

BAMBOO LEAVING ROOM TABLE

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY CORPEI (The Export and Investment Promotion Corporation) www.corpei.org. Phone: (593) 04-2-681-550. ECUABAMBU Nicolas Naranjo Phone: (593) 02-2-239-811 / (593) 02-2-231-483 FIELD TRIP to Vivienda Hogar de Cristo FORESTA Seminar, delivered by Milton Cedeo INBAR (International Network for Bamboo and Rattan) www.inbar.org.sg INTERVIEWS

Luis Fernando Botero Nicolas Naranjo (ECUABAMBU) Fernando Cubillo (SUCRE PEREZ FARM) Milton Cedeo (AMINGAY CORPORATION) Sebastian Gallegos (AMINGAY CORPORATION) Ricardo Ambruster (PNNU) Eric Clauren (INBAR)

BAMBU

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