It is estimated that Australians are
eating about 8,000 tonnes of tinned bamboo shoots
every year (Prof D Midmore - CQU 1997). Fresh shoots are rarely
available yet on our markets, and even then in insignificant
quantities. We are establishing many hectares of plantations (Approximately
110 hectares in our local area in 2000) that should soon
produce 10,000kg/hectare/year or more of high quality edible
shoots. We are also encouraging others to plant this new crop
to ensure a reliable supply and market development. There is not
only the export replacement market here in Australia, but a large
potential export market for off-season shoots in Japan, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Thailand; in fact most northern hemisphere
countries that currently consume approximately 2 million tonnes
of bamboo shoots annually.
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In one of our young plantations |
Mature plantation bamboos also produce good quality salable bamboo timber each year as a by-product of the plantation management system. On current prices, it is more than probable that the gross income from timber will exceed $10,000/hectare, thus giving two separate income earning crops per year (summer shoots and winter culm harvest).
Australia can’t expect to compete with Asian countries producing tinned shoots, but fresh shoots are far superior. Japan, a big importer of bamboo shoots whose season is opposite to ours, has already enquired whether Australia has fresh shoots available, claiming off-season fresh shoots bring up to $10/kg! There are periods when fresh shoots are not available in the northern hemisphere, usually replaced with tinned and dried shoots that are obviously inferior. The first few small crops of fresh Australian shoots (up to about 5 tonnes/year now)returned between $5.00 and $8.00/kg in Melbourne markets to the grower (1996/97, and early 98). By the end of the 1997/98 summer, there will be about 50ha of still immature plantation planted in Australia, a drop in the bucket compared to both the potential Australian and export market.
These
clumping bamboos, the fastest growing woody plants in the world,
produce a small first crop when three years old (possibly even
two), then giving an increasing income to reach more than
10,000kg/ha when 5 to 6 years old. They can be planted as either
a dedicated bamboo plantation, or a tree interplanting for income
and initial shade cover during the 20 plus years forest maturing
time, or a fruit grower planting rows as windbreaks. Sympodial
(non-invasive clumping) bamboos grow happily amongst heavy
forest, which is their natural habitat. They also provide free
banana props if that is your chosen crop, and would give an
alternative income source to sugar cane growers, either as a
windbreak or a crop diversification.
In order to have available sufficient plants to establish our own plantations and a network of other plantings to sustain a reliable market supply, we have developed tissue culture systems for the particular clones and species most suited for high production high quality edible shoots and timber. These are the particular species and clones of the already proven and researched bamboos grown in areas totalling thousands of hectares in Thailand(54,000ha), China (incalculable) and Taiwan(more than 100,000ha).
Our managed plantation areas now in excess of 45 ha (Nov 1999). We have also released for sale strong Dendrocalamus asper plants and Dendrocalamus latiflorus plants, available for the first time in plantation quantities. (Thailand planted 54,000ha of the first species and Taiwan about 100,000ha of the second species). They are now available on application in plantation quantities at considerably reduced prices.