CHAPTER

2
Marketing of Bamboo Products:

2.1Bamboo market in assam

In Assam, bamboo holds a special place in the lives of the people. From making furniture and other
items from bamboo to its use in various rituals and ceremonies, more than half of the population of
the state depends on bamboo for their livelihood. The state has a thriving bamboo industry.
Assamese people have acquired immense knowledge and developed expertise while working with
bamboo for ages. Bamboo products are used in almost every household in one form or the other in
Assam. Few of the many household products include houses made of bamboo, baskets, ladders,
hand-fans, mats, etc.
In 2021, Assam ranked 5th in area under bamboo cultivation amongst Indian states at 10.6 Lakh
hectares and had a stock of 386 Lakh tonnes, which is 9.6% of the total stock of the country. Due to
heavy production base, bamboo cultivation has witnessed great progress in Assam. Compared to the
2019 levels, the total bamboo stock in the state in 2021 grew 60% from 240.6 Lakh tonnes to 386
Lakh tonnes. The bamboo bearing area increased by 1.3 % from 10.5 Lakh hectares to 10.6 Lakh .
hectares during the same period. At the density level, this shows a remarkable increase from 3829
bamboo culms per hectare to 5656 culms per hectare, which is a growth of 48%.
The bamboo market in Assam has experienced a remarkable transformation, driven by innovative
uses of bamboo and the emergence of diverse bamboo products. Assam, a state in North East India,
is home to 51 species of bamboo, which hold both cultural significance and economic value. These
versatile plants provide livelihoods to cultivators and skilled artisans who craft decorative baskets,
furniture, and mats. The Assam State Bamboo Mission envisions leveraging this abundant
resource to promote entrepreneurship, raise awareness about bamboo’s socio-economic benefits,
and establish market linkages. With 30 percent of the global bamboo resources, India plays a
pivotal role in the bamboo industry. The rapid growth rate and adaptability of bamboo make it an
ideal resource for reducing reliance on traditional timber, contributing to forest conservation efforts.
The region’s bamboo industry has revolutionized its market, offering economic growth
opportunities while contributing to environmental conservation. The creation of a wide array of
bamboo products and the development of bamboo-based technologies have not only provided
economic sustenance to millions but also positioned North East India as a vital player in the global
bamboo market
some key points about the bamboo market in Assam:

I. Economic Opportunities: Bamboo cultivation and processing provide livelihoods to many

people. Skilled artisans create a variety of products such as decorative baskets, furniture,
mats, and handicrafts.
II. Assam State Bamboo Mission: The state government has launched the Assam State
Bamboo Mission to promote entrepreneurship, raise awareness, and establish market
linkages. The mission aims to harness bamboo’s potential for sustainable development.
III. Global Importance: India, with 30 percent of the world’s bamboo resources, plays a
crucial role in the bamboo industry. Bamboo’s rapid growth rate and adaptability make it an
ideal resource for reducing reliance on traditional timber.
IV. Environmental Impact: By using bamboo, Assam contributes to forest conservation
efforts. Bamboo-based technologies and products not only boost the economy but also help
protect the environment.

2.2bamboo market in Nalbari district:

In Nalbari district of Assam, the bamboo market plays a crucial role in the local economy and
culture. Known for its abundant bamboo resources, Nalbari district boasts a thriving market where
bamboo is harvested, processed, and transformed into various products. Bamboo artisans in Nalbari
create a wide range of traditional and contemporary items, including handicrafts, furniture, utensils,
and construction materials. These products not only serve local needs but also contribute to regional
trade and commerce. Additionally, the bamboo market in Nalbari district provides employment
opportunities for many local residents, supporting livelihoods and fostering economic growth. With
a growing emphasis on sustainability and eco-friendly practices, the bamboo market in Nalbari
district is poised to further expand and innovate, catering to both domestic and international demand
for environmentally conscious products.
some key points about the bamboo market in nalbari:
I. Bamboo Utilization Patterns:Bamboo is a naturally distributed evergreen perennial
flowering plant belonging to the grass family Poaceae.In Nalbari district, bamboo has been
primarily utilized for building and scaffolding purposes, accounting for approximately
84.50% of its usage.The versatility of bamboo extends to various sectors due to its strength
and flexibility.
II. Value Chain Analysis:A comprehensive value chain analysis was conducted to understand
the entire process from bamboo cultivation to end products.Key aspects of the analysis
included mapping out the actors involved in the bamboo value chain.Additionally, the study
estimated compliance costs, investment, and returns associated with the value chain.
III. Market Channels:In Assam (specifically Barpeta and Nalbari districts), raw bamboo is
predominantly marketed outside the state through Channel-I: Pole collector → Traders →
Other states of India (constituting 46.43% of the market).In neighboring Meghalaya, the
preferred channel is Channel-II: Pole Collector → Traders (Assam/Shillong) (comprising
81.35% of the market).
IV. Price Spread Insights:In Barpeta and Nalbari districts, the price spread (difference between
buying and selling prices) was found to be higher in Channel-I and Channel-V, respectively,
for all bamboo products.similarly, in Meghalaya, the maximum price spread occurred in
Channel-I for both districts across various bamboo products.Impact on Livelihood and
Income:The value chain of bamboo significantly affects the livelihood and income of
different stakeholders.By promoting sustainable bamboo practices, Assam can harness its
potential for economic growth.Untapped Potential:An exciting initiative is the proposed
 bamboo park, covering an area of 75 hectares.This park aims to provide a competitive edge
to bamboo growers and entrepreneurs in the region by promoting bamboo-based
industries12.
V. Beyond the market :Nalbari is renowned for its bamboo and cane handicrafts, along with
other local products like medicinal herbs, rice, and tea3. The diverse uses of bamboo include
baskets, lamps, utensils, musical instruments, and more .

2.3 :Production of Different Bamboo Products by the Sample Artisans :

In Assam, bamboo craft, carried out traditionally in almost every household in the rural areas, is
playing an important role in the rural economy. Products ranging from household implements to
construction of dwelling houses to weaving accessories to musical instruments are made from
bamboo. In the study area, the sample artisans produced different types of bamboo items, viz.
household items, decorative items, musical items, fishing equipments, weaving equipments etc.
However, it is to be mentioned here that some of the products are used for domestic purposes and
the rest are marketed to meet the household expenditure. The sample artisans primarily depend
upon traditional techniques of production and not much promotional measures are taken to attract
the consumers on a continuous basis. As a matter of fact, complete commercialization of bamboo
products is yet to take place in the study area. Table- 4.1 shows the volume of production of
different bamboo goods produced per annum by the sample artisans across the income groups. It is
seen from the Table that the sample artisans of below Rs.1 lakh income group produced maximum
number of Dola (4,520 nos.) followed by fishing equipments (3,956 nos.) and kharahi (3,550 nos.).
The sample artisans of Rs.1-2 lakh income group produced 6,207 nos. of Dhari, 6,200 nos. of Japi,
5,639 nos. of Dola, 4,015 nos. of chalani and 3,960 nos. of kharahi along with considerable amount
of fishing equipments, decorative items and other miscellaneous items. It is evident from the Table
that the sample artisans of Rs. 2- 3 lakh income group produced highest number of Kharahi
(3,757nos.), followed by Dhari (3,638 nos.), Murha (3,430 nos.) and other decorative items.(3,134
nos.). The income group of Rs.3 lakh & above group produced 7,689 nos. of Dhari, 6,325 nos. of
Murha, 5,324 nos. of Chalani, 5,215 nos. of Kharahi, 4,620 nos. of Pasi, 4,558 nos. of fishing
equipments, 3,565 nos. of decorative items, 3,456 nos. of Japi along with 130 numbers of Sofa set,
4,526 numbers of Dola and 2,389 numbers of other miscellaneous items. Combining the entire
income group, it was found that the sample artisans produced maximum units of Dhari (20,884
nos.), followed by Dola (16,566 nos.), Kharahi(16,482 nos.), Japi(15,858nos.), Murha (15,673
nos.), Chalani(15,046nos.), Fishing Equipments(13,697nos.), Decorative items (13,454 nos.),
Pasi(13,020 nos.),other miscellaneous items(7,057nos.) and Sofa Set (311 nos.) during the reference
period.
2.4 Product and Market :
2.4.1 :Bamboo Water Bottle: The bamboo water bottle has immense potential as a substitute for
plastics. They are eco-friendly, longlasting, and superior to plastic bottles as they can keep the water
cooler for longer periods even in summers.
Investment and Expected Returns For an industrial set up to make bamboo bottles, the
entrepreneur would need to invest around Rs. 25 Lakh including around Rs. 5 lakh working capital.
The machines and components needed are a treatment tank, drying chamber, lathe machine, sanding
machine and portable cross cutting machine.
Market Bamboo based water bottles have seen a steady rise in demand in the national as well as the
international market. DB Industries in Assam currently produces around 1,500 bottles per month
and have a standing demand of more than 8,000 water bottles per month. Bamboo water bottles can
be sold in retail and lifestyle stores such as Home Centre, Home Town, and IKEA. They are
available on e-Commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. The product has good export
potential to Europe, North America and Australia as the customer preference is aligned towards
more sustainable and eco-friendly substitutes of plastics. Appreciation for such products is also
growing in India, especially amongst the youth. Apart from being utility products, use of such
ecologically sustainable products is also seen as a style statement. This segment is driven mostly by
social media - Facebook or Instagram. The sale and adoption of such products is highly dependent
on references and recommendations. Thus, the entrepreneur needs to have access to markets in
lifestyle retail chains, e-commerce, and export market. Needs to be good at social media sales as
well.
2.4.2 Bamboo Barbeque Skewers : Bamboo barbeque skewers are popular with both vegetarian
and non-vegetarian barbeque lovers across the world. Earlier iron skewers were used widely but is
getting replaced fast by bamboo ones, creating a huge market potential in both domestic and exports
markets. These are single use and affordable products having no negative impact on the
environment. Studies have shown that food contamination in bamboo skewers is much less than
steel skewers.
Investment and Expected Returns For an industrial set up to make bamboo skewers, the
entrepreneur would need to invest 55 - 60 lakhs depending on the planned scale of the business,
including 20 - 25 lakhs for working capital. The machines and components needed are bamboo
cross cutting machine, splitting machine, slicer machine, stick making machine, skewer making
machine and polishing machine and boiling tub. One can easily produce toothpick and chopsticks
by the same production line by adjusting the machines or adding a single specific machine to the
production line. Prashant Bamboo Machines, Arihant Engineering and Anil Enterprises are some of
the suppliers of bamboo skewer machines. One can find machine suppliers from India and abroad
on e-commerce portals such as India Mart and Alibaba.
Market The bamboo skewer market is growing rapidly due to its cost effectiveness in comparison
to stainless steel skewers. As single use products, they are more preferred in picnics and marriage
parties. The local markets include hotels, dhabas, motels and town side caterers. They can also be
marketed through wholesalers and retail outlets. They are also popular on Amazon and Flipkart.
One may register on B2B portals such as India Mart, Trade India, and Alibaba for bulk orders
across the country and globe.
2.4.3 Bamboo Straw :Bamboo Culms of Melocana baccifera, Bambusa pallida of 6-8mm or less
diameter and 1-3 years of maturity suitable for making straw. In Jharkhand state branches of
Bambusa nutans or Bambusa tulda could be alternative raw material as M. baccifera and B. pallida
are unavailable. Bamboo straws are natural, eco-friendly, biodegradable, hygienic and chemical free
substitutes for plastic straw. They are reusable if washed and dried properly
Investment and Expected Returns A bamboo straw unit of 1 Lakh pieces per month would need
an investment of approx. Rs. 2.8 Lakhs and working capital of Rs. 2 Lakhs for 30-day cycle. Major
equipment required are grinding and sanding blade, oven, and straw cleaning brush.
Market Bamboo straw is the alternative option of plastic and paper straws and has high potential to
grab a share of the existing straw market in India. It has an advantage over plastic as it is reusable
and biodegradable. Government of India is set to impose a nationwide ban from 2nd October 2019
on six single use plastic items - plastic straw is one of them and can open high demand for bamboo
straws. It would be in demand in restaurants, hotels, institutional canteens, corporate house staff
canteens, juice bars, coastal area eateries, and eateries where consumers spend about 45 minutes to
have beverages. Bamboo straws are better than paper straws as the latter can’t withstand more than
5minutes when dipped in liquid. There is scope of selling a few lacs of bamboo straw in a month
through B2B sales. E-commerce platforms viz. Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart are already placing
bamboo straws as part of their assortment. The product has significant export potential. In the US
500 million straws are used daily. The US and European countries are shifting to sustainable
environmentally friendly products and enquiring about single use plastic substitutes. The European
Union plans to ban the single use of plastic straws by 2021 .
2.4.4 Bamboo Murha: The ‘Murha’, also spelt as muda, moodha, muddha is a traditional
handcrafted bamboo stool. Bamboo is used in the body while cane is used in binding as well as
weaving the seating part. The Murha gets its strength to support huge loads from the elaborate
binding details embedded on it. The patterns are created with the artisan’s own inventive ideas and
skills without using any traced designs. Weaving of stool (Murha) is manually done by experienced
artisans. The durability, low weight, easy maintenance, and portability of the furniture further
increase its appeal
Investment and Expected Returns As a household micro enterprise, the tools required are very basic
in nature. Only a machete / dao and knife is needed in order to crosscut the bamboo, split it and to
make sticks out of the splits. The investment needed is thus, less than Rs. 50,000 even considering
the working capital requirement. If the objective is to start the enterprise at a large scale with hired
labour, then an investment of Rs. 18 Lakh (including working capital) is needed. The necessary
machinery can be easily procured from any of the Indian manufacturers. The financial estimates are
given below:
Market Murha is a versatile product with stable demand in local markets and is gaining in
popularity across retail outlets and e-commerce platforms. While the local market is indifferent to
the material being used to make the Murha, the retail market (both brick and mortar stores as well
as e-commerce retail platforms) show preference for natural fibres like cane being used in place of
plastic. Apart from cane, water hyacinth and water reed can also be used as weaving material.
Modern retail has good demand for such innovative products. The Murha can be combined with
leather and furnished with cushions to provide more value-added options for the national markets.
Such innovative products will also have export potential. E-Commerce platforms like
Pepperfry.com and Amazon.com feature Murhas in their marketplace and these products are listed
upward of 1500 rupees in these platforms. Similarly, European furniture websites also feature the
traditional Murha as one of their many offerings fetching close to 35 Euros per Murha (Around Rs
2,600)
2.4.5 Office Utility Products (Woven) :Bamboo being a woody grass, with strong fibre is one of
the best natural materials for making mats and baskets. As green substitutes, there is increasing
demand for bamboo-based office utility products such as Paper bins, Files, Folders, Pen-stand etc.
Suitable species are Bambusa nutans/ Bambusa tulda.
Investment and Expected Returns For an industrial set up to make Bamboo Office Utility Products,
investment of 6.5 to 8.5 Lakhs (including 2.5 - 3.5 lakh working capital) is needed depending on the
scale of business. The machines could be used by vendors such as Anil Enterprises in Dewas (MP).
Market Due to its environmentally friendly benefits, overall demand for bamboo products is
increasing. Government offices, such as Forest and Environment departments are deciding to use
bamboo-based office utility products. Students are also showing preferences towards such products
and in general people are becoming aware and prefer green bamboo products to non-biodegradable
products. This leads towards a large market potential for bamboo-based office utility products like
paper bins, file folders pen-stands, pencil boxes etc. and more options likely to emerge in future.
2.4.6. Round Bamboo Furniture :Round bamboo furniture or the traditional bamboo furniture are
seen as low-cost substitute to wooden furniture. The aesthetically designed ones have found a
resurgence in demand for interior decoration, use in gazebos, resorts, and lawns. They can outlast
wooden furniture and fetch good price in the market, making it a lucrative business.

Investment and Expected Returns Investment of Rs. 10 - 25 Lakhs including Rs. 5 - 6 lakh working
capital is required. Machines needed are pressure treatment plant, LPG blow torch with accessories,
straightening wooden column, angle grinder or knot removing machine and portable cross cutting
machine.
 Market In 2006, the furniture market of India was estimated at Rs. 35,000 crores. Considering that
with the emergence of growth factors like (i) product innovations; (ii) organized retail showrooms
(IKEA, Home Town, Home Centre etc.,); (iii) advent of e-commerce like Pepper Fry, Urban
Ladder, etc. and (iv) organized furniture rental providers such as Furlenco and Rentomojo; the
markets have transformed and grown bigger. Around 15 % of the market is in the organized sector,
catered by companies such as Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., BP Ergo, Featherlite, Zuari,
etc. To meet emerging demand in national and exports market, the entrepreneur will need to
develop knockdown or DIY versions of the products for easier storage, packaging, and
transportation. Those would require different designs, accessories, and production systems.
According to investments in business may vary.
2.4.7 Toothpick :The bamboo toothpick is preferred over wood as a raw material for the product
due to fast growth of bamboo and easy availability.
Investment and Expected Returns To set up a full-fledged semi-automatic or fully automatic
bamboo toothpick making production line, 7 basic machines are required. These can be procured
form suppliers from India, Vietnam, or China. Prasant Bamboo Machines and Anil Enterprises are
few suppliers in India. The likely capital investment for the production line shall be around 45-50
lakhs depending on the scale of production, excluding working capital for one month of around 20
lakhs. The same production line can be used for making products such as bamboo skewers and
chopsticks by adding machines needed to make them. The estimates of the investment and expected
returns are as given below:
Market Bamboo toothpick is one of the hot selling bamboo products in domestic and international
markets with a stable and increasing demand. Food points, restaurants, hotels have a regular bulk
demand for the product. To reach more bulk buyers across the nation and globe the unit may be
registered under different B2B online platform like India Mart, Go for Global, Trade India and
Exporters India. For retailing, online platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, Nature Baskets,
Grofers can be very useful. Offline sales promotion can be done to create a regular business channel
in the local and intra-state market. Social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram may be also
used to target retail customers.
2.5Market Structure :
Market structure outlines the operation of the market. The elements of market structure include the
number and size of distribution of firms, entry conditions and the extent of differentiation. The
bamboo products are produced by a number of small and big artisans scattered in a wide area
comprising cluster of villages. Due to lack of daily/ weekly market, it may not be possible for the
individual artisan to sell his produce directly to the consumer owing to low volume of sale to
undertake direct marketing at distant markets. Moreover, the rural artisans usually do not have their
own means of transport. They had to depend primarily on the village traders and other commission
agents in the market. The bamboo artisans usually sell their produce to the market middleman like
commission agents or village traders, these are then taken to wholesalers, retailers and consumers.
2.6 Market analysis
A market analysis is a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of external market and internal
resources. The success or failure of a particular enterprise, to a great extent depends on marketing of
its finished products. Without a sound and secured market, no industry can thrive for longer. A
good market always plays a pivotal role in the economy. There is traditional demand for bamboo
and its product in domestic as well as global market. With the surge for wood alternative, demand
for bamboo products have increased manifold in recent time