Bamboo industry urged to focus on design-driven products

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s bamboo industry must to focus on design-driven products to grow and take advantage of opportunities in export markets, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

“Design-driven products should be the direction,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said during he Philippine Bamboo 2014 Showcase opening ceremony Tuesday.

As the country has many good designers who are able to export products and sell to international brands, he said there is potential for the bamboo industry to grow by focusing on design-driven products.

“Put high design content, plus high quality of production and you can command five times or 10 times higher the price,” he said.

Design-driven products are being pushed for the bamboo industry as using bamboo as a wood substitute for school desks and furniture is more expensive.

Under Executive Order 879 issued in 2010, the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council was created to promote the development of the industry and the use of bamboo for at least 25 percent of the desk and other furniture requirements of public elementary and secondary schools, as well as government facilities.

“The long-term viability of bamboo for school desks is put to question because there is no justification for higher cost. We have to find another use for bamboo,” Domingo said.

For his part, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said there are many opportunities for the local bamboo industry given the demand from overseas.

The bamboo industry is estimated to be valued at $20 billion globally by 2015.

This, as demand is expected from the US, European Union, Japan, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Mexico.

“There are many opportunities we can’t supply,” Ortiz-Luis said.

He said that through the Bamboo Showcase which puts on display the country’s different bamboo products, the local industry is hopeful that it could fill the supply gap.