THE Senate has approved a proposed measure to infuse new momentum into the country’s bamboo industry.
Approved unanimously last Oct. 8, Senate Bill 2495, or the “Kawayan Act,” aims to reboot an industry that has grown stagnant in recent years.
"Our bamboo industry has plateaued over the years. Here in Southeast Asia, we are lagging behind Vietnam and Indonesia in the promotion of bamboo as a product,” Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the bill’s sponsor, noted.
That is ironic because the Philippines has from 39,000 to 53,000 hectares of bamboo stands, and in 2009 was the world’s fifth-largest exporter of bamboo. That year, Philippine bamboo exports hit $30 million.
We’ve never duplicated that feat. In fact, by 2024, the country’s world ranking had slipped to 65th. Today the Philippines sells only between $6.3 million and $13 million worth of bamboo products annually, mainly in the form of furniture, and surprisingly, edible bamboo shoots.
Zubiri blamed the slump on limited government support for research and development that left gaps in data needed to set growth targets and determine the assistance for local producers.
The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) was more specific, citing “the low supply of raw materials, low survival rate for macro propagation, limited technology for shoot production and marketing strategies, high cost of processed products and weak transfer of technology” as stunting the industry’s growth.
SB 2495 will mandate the establishment of a Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap, a five-year plan covering the propagation, processing, utilization, commercialization and promotion of bamboo and bamboo-based products.
Overseeing the plan’s implementation will be a reconstituted Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council. The council will identify areas suitable for bamboo plantations, facilitate financing and credit, and promote processing facilities, among other tasks.
The measure also engages other government agencies in reinvigorating the bamboo industry.
The Department of Energy and Natural Resources will be required to use bamboo as planting material for at least 25 percent of its annual reforestation and rehabilitation programs.
The Department of Education must set aside at least 25 percent of its annual procurement requirements for school desks and armchairs made from bamboo.
The Department of Science and Technology must earmark 20 percent of its assistance funds for small and medium enterprises for bamboo-based businesses.
Government offices will be encouraged to use bamboo furniture and fixtures.
The country, however, needs to look at more innovative approaches if it wants to breathe new life into the bamboo industry.
One such initiative, launched by the Department of Agriculture in 2024, is centered on engineered bamboo, which exploits bamboo’s potential as a renewable, high-performance material for construction.
In processing engineered bamboo, raw stalks are pressed together to form composite boards or panels that can be used to make walls, doors, ceilings, floors and a multiple other house parts.
Engineered bamboo panels are said to be stronger and less prone to warping than solid wood.
Deogracias Victor Savellano, the agriculture undersecretary at that time, was confident engineered bamboo could save the government P400 billion annually through import substitution.
One building materials company, the Florida-based Rizome, was confident enough to build a $100-million engineered-bamboo manufacturing plant in Cagayan de Oro City.
The plant buys Philippine Giant Bamboo stalks directly from Indigenous communities and turns them into high-grade bamboo slats, veneer and laminated lumber.
The firm provided the lamellar wood used in the new passenger terminal at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
The next step for Rizome is to ramp up production and crack the world market. China is the acknowledged leader in this field, accounting for about 80 percent of the world’s processed bamboo products and 67 percent of global exports.
Bamboo also has a bigger promise that the Philippines could tap into, one that could dovetail with its climate strategy.
Bamboo is looming as the perfect substitute for petroleum-based plastic products. Toothbrushes, combs and tableware are among the everyday plastic products that can be seamlessly substituted with bamboo counterparts.
Incorporating these new approaches could go a long way not only in reviving our bamboo industry but also in re-establishing — even improving — its stature in the world market.