Commodities

Bamboo

Bamboo belongs to the grass family, Gramineae or Poaceae. It is commonly known as woody grass because some of its structrual growth characteristics resemble those of woody plants. A bamboo often has a tree-like habit. It is woodly and usually hallow clums, complex rhizome and branch systems, petiolate leaft blades and prominent sheating organs. Many bamboo species have big and upright stems, like Dendrocalamus asper which is known locally as Giant Bamboo. Some species are small and look like ordinary grass like Utod or Yushania niitakaymensis.

There are about 1,200 bamboo species that belong to at least 80 genera in world. Of these, about 200 species belong to approximately 20 genera found in Southeast Asia.

Bamboo is one major commodity of the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC). Iloilo aims to become the bamboo center of the Philippines. It has an abundant supply of bamboo poles, mostly Kawayan tinik. As of 1999, the bamboo stands in both natural stands and plantations have an aggregate area of 8,085 ha. The province is producing 2,426,487 poles every year, supplying the raw material requirements of 41 manufacturers, 32 domestic producers, and 9 exporters of various processed bamboo products. Due to the increasing demand for bamboo poles, Iloilo is accelerating its plantation development efforts with a long-term plan of establishing additional bamboo plantations of about 58,200 ha.