The industrialization and market orientation of bamboo shoot production in Lin'an County: a case study

Lin'an County, in the Zhejiang Province of China, began to develop large-scale industrial purpose bamboo shoot plantations in the 1980s. The bamboo shoot plantation area in this county increased from 2180 ha in 1982 to 20 000 ha in 2002; at the same time, the annual fresh shoot production increased from 7280 tons to 135 250 tons, annual fresh shoot production value increased from CNY 2.19 million to CNY 328.05 million (1 CNY = about US$ 0.12). The local industry development started from zero to 47 bamboo shoot processing enterprises, the processed bamboo shoot products amount to 114 000 tons per year. From these products, 32 180 tons are exported to international markets, with an export value of CNY 150 million. The annual per capita income of local farmers increased from less than CNY 800 to CNY 5100. This article introduces how the local farmers in Lin'an County developed the local bamboo shoot production from a natural autarkic economy to an dimensional and market-orientated industry. This progress involves Government supports, training for local farmers, construction of demonstration sites and establishment of technical service network and marketing development. This article provides a successful model for developing bamboo sectors in a community with poor conditions and achieves success in a comparatively short period of time.