India News | Sonowal Asks Entrepreneurs to Tap Market Potential of Bamboo

Guwahati, Sep 18 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday said that the state government was giving priority to the bamboo and cane sector and urged farmers and entrepreneurs to tap the market potential of bamboo by adopting innovative and scientific approaches.

Speaking at a function organised on the occasion of World Bamboo Day, the chief minister also stressed on the need to focus on the quality of production and value addition of bamboo products.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Announces to Set Up India's Biggest Film City in Noida.

Sonowal said that though bamboo grows naturally in the state, it was not considered from the business point of view earlier but with progress in the field of science and technology, it has made people aware of its commercial viability.

He urged entrepreneurs to concentrate on producing bamboo items incorporating innovative ideas as the state could significantly gain from exporting bamboo products, which has a huge global demand with a market value of more than USD 60 billion.

Also Read | Onion Export Ban Relaxed? Government Allows Export of Onions Laying at Ports to Bangladesh And Other Countries, Say Reports.

He also observed that like Assam tea, Assam bamboo has huge potential to capture the world market and asked the State Bamboo Development Agency officials to provide all support to farmers and bamboo entrepreneurs.

Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that that tissue culture for production of a good variety of bamboo has started and bamboo plantation in a massive scale would be taken up soon in the state.

He said that the country's two-third bamboo is produced in the North-eastern states and around 30 per cent of this is produced in Assam.

Moreover, with the commissioning of the bio-fuel plant at Numaligarh Refinery Limited, work for which has already begun, there will be a demand of 5 lakh metric tonne of bamboo and a roadmap has also been prepared to utilise bamboo waste for economic benefit, he added.

The chief minister also released a logo and inaugurated a website of the State Bamboo Development Agency, the organiser of the programme.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)