BAMBOO INDUSTRIES IN JAPAN

Table 9: Recent bamboo culm industry in Japan.
Year	Area of stands (ha)	Import (ton) 1	Production (ton)	Export (ton)	Supply (ton)	Prod./Area per year
		1	2	3	1+2-3	(ton/ha)
1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992	120,390 121,355 124,498 120,934 117,984 117,386 111,791 104,777 101,174 94,362 93,342 88,190 88,171 84,440 79,633	28,825 31,352 25,034 21,230 21,049 17,395 17,629 17,763 18,297 17,479 23,827 22,514 23,265 27,104 25,840	228,723 215,600 224,125 210,700 203,375 193,500 199,150 186,975 178,400 177,775 175,600 171,550 170,550 164,200 144,970	1,870 1,344 1,001 1,128 1,105 680 996 490 521 749 295 112 102 83 79	255,678 245,608 248,158 230,802 223,319 210,215 215,783 204,248 196,176 194,505 199,132 193,952 193,713 191,221 170 731	1.900 1.777 1.800 1.742 1.724 1.648 1.781 1.785 1.763 1.884 1.881 1.945 1.934 1.945 1.820
Note: 1). Areas &production are from the information of Forestry Agency. 2). Imports &exports are from statistics of Customs Office.

Data not included in Table 9 relate to the imports of bamboo products. In the past, export of products was important for currency earnings but this is not now the case.

During the past 15 years, production and supply of culms in Japan have been reduced by about one third. The reasons for this decrease are as follows:

First, the demand for construction materials has decreased. A large amount of culms used to be consumed for Japanese wooden houses in the past. For example, mesh formed bamboo piece supporters for constructing clay mud walls were required in the past. However, the Japanese living style is more westernised and typical Japanese housing is not as popular. In case of constructing traditional houses, high cost are required than for western style housing.

Second, the demand for bamboo products is decreasing. Various bamboo products for use in the daily life of the Japanese people are being replaced by petrochemical derivatives such as plastic substitutes. Many are imported from neighbouring countries. Many handicrafts made by Japanese are now valued, like high-level art not suited for daily use.

Third, due to decreased demand, farmers are less willing to cultivate bamboo, and younger people are not involved with such work.

Despite these changes, the production per unit area has remained fairly constant, even at low levels. Management of stands and cultivation techniques remain satisfactory.

Shoot Industry

The trends in the industry are shown in Table 10. Stand area has remained almost constant, but production has decreased. Imports have increased. Significantly, production per unit area is decreasing.

Table 10: Recent bamboo shoot industry in Japan.
Year	Area (ha)	Production (ton)	Import (ton)	Demand (ton)	Prod. /Area (ton/ha.yr.)
1981	50,179	156,674	29,874	186,548	3.122
1981	48,444	153,886	34,255	188,141	3.177
1981	47,422	167,275	36,165	203,440	3.527
1981	44,513	146,929	38,619	185,548	3.301
1981	51,103	161,123	42,191	203,314	3.153
1981	51,362	146,773	48,288	195,061	2.858
1981	35,660	137,216	81,022	218,238	3.848
1981	33,428	150,349	95,733	246,082	4.498
1981	53.181	138,276	70,294	208,570	2.590
1981	53,129	137,616	72,546	210,162	2.590
1981	54,324	112,460	90,129	202,589	2.070
1981	48,994	99,466	98,665	198,131	2.030
Note 1) Areas &production are from the information f forestry agency 2)Imports are from the statistics of Customs Office

Shoot production in Japan has always been intensive, but there are indications for a decline.

Reasons for decrease in domestic productions are related to two factors. One is that the farmer's income from cultivating shoots is declining due to competition with low cost imported shoots. The second is due to lack of manpower for intensive cultivation and interest by younger people in this work.

Fortunately, shoots are in demand in some districts and fresh shoots can command high prices in markets as compared to canned shoots. There is anxiety about imports of fresh shoots.

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