The analysis and countermeasures of international trade in bamboo products(2010/03/30)
    The international trade of bamboo products has become the focus of attention in the trade of agricultural and forestry products. The bamboo industry in China has well developed, and exports of bamboo products are growing, by the meantime, it also encountered with restrictions of technical barriers and green barriers. After analysis of major exported bamboo products of China involved in technical barriers and green barriers of Europe, United States, and Japan, we propose the countermeasure of implementation of international technical standards, forest certification and eco-design, R&D of new products, participation in international foreign exchange trade to circumvent technical barriers and green barriers and improve the international competitiveness of bamboo products.
    [Key words] bamboo products, international trade, technical barriers, green barriers, countermeasures
    China is known as the "World bamboo industry power". Rich in natural resources, with well developed bamboo industry, China is the world's largest exporter of bamboo products. Bamboo products have become the most valuable non-wood forest products in the international trade. When exports are growing, it's also faced with technical barriers and green barriers set up in major markets, hindering the development of bamboo products in the international market. Therefore, it's necessary to study the international trade of bamboo products, to identify measures to adapt to international trade rules, to overcome trade barrier and promote the development of bamboo industry playing an important role in the sustainable development of bamboo industry.
    1. Rapid development of bamboo industry. China's bamboo industry achieved output value of more than 66 billion RMB in 2006. The export of bamboo products earned 1.28 billion USD in 2004 and 1.05 billion USD in 2005. Bamboo has strong protectiveness of natural environment and repair function of ecological degradation. The global ecological environment deterioration has drawn the deepening of attention of people's ecological awareness. People began to pay attention to bamboo resources, develop and utilize bamboo resources, and hope it can play a significant role in the sustainable development, and therefore, bamboo products are popular around the world. The trade of bamboo products is expanding from the markets of Asia and Southeast Asia to Europe and America and all over the world.
    2. Bamboo products continue to develop, and inject of ecological concept. Bamboo, from leaves to roots could be exploited and made full use of. It has mainly raw bamboo plant; bamboo material processing (bamboo weaving arts and crafts, bamboo veneers, bamboo floorings, bamboo mats, bamboo curtains), bamboo shoots processing (fresh bamboo shoots, canned boiled bamboo shoots). And recently developed bamboo chemical products (bamboo charcoals, bamboo fibers, bamboo charcoal fibers, bamboo leaves flavonoids, etc.) meet great favor in the global market. Bamboo products, from design to production, from strategies to brand are all injected strong ecological concept. The desire for bamboo products is the desire for ecology and green, the concern of bamboo products is the concern of sustainable development of environment and resources.