Union Budget 2011: Bamboo farmers in Northeast turn jittery

GUWAHATI: Bamboo farmers across the Northeast turned jittery since local production of this product will take a beating with the FM’s budget proposal to slash custom duty on bamboo (for agarbatti) from 30 per cent to 10 per cent.

Says Kamesh Salam, director of Cane & Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) and member of apex committee of National Bamboo Mission said: "Who will buy from us now. Manufactures will now procure from China and Vietnam. We have requested the government to further increase the custom duty."

He said local growers would really suffer. " After years of work, we have managed to get ITC to source sticks from Tripura, Assam and Mizoram. All that will come to nought if procurements now happen from China or Vietnam."

Assam is coming up with a bamboo park. According to the Forest Survey of India report, about 12.8 per cent of total forest area is under bamboo cultivation, with the Northeast accounting for 66 per cent of India’s bamboo resources in terms of value and 28 per cent in terms of area.

By 2015, the Indian bamboo industry is estimated to grow into a $5.7 billion sector against $574 million in 2000 thereby witnessing a 10-fold increase.