New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on Sunday said it has urged the government to lift the export ban on bamboo charcoal for optimum utilisation of raw bamboo and higher profitability in the industry.

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KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena has written to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, seeking removal of the export restriction on bamboo charcoal.

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"One of the biggest challenges that the Indian bamboo industry faces today is the extremely high input cost owing to inadequate utilisation of bamboo. However, export of bamboo charcoal would ensure complete utilisation of the bamboo waste and thus make the bamboo business more profitable," an official statement said.

Notably, in India, bamboo is mostly used in manufacturing of Agarbatti wherein, a maximum of 16 per cent, i.e. the upper layers of the bamboo, is used for manufacturing of bamboo sticks while the remaining 84 per cent of bamboo is a complete waste.

Consequently, the bamboo waste generated in Agarbatti and bamboo craft industries is not being utilised commercially, as a result, the bamboo input cost for round bamboo sticks is in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per MT as against the average Bamboo cost of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per MT.

Compared to this, the bamboo price in China is Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per MT but their input cost is Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per MT owing to 100 per cent waste utilisation, the MSME Ministry said.

Saxena said the bamboo waste can be best utilised by making “Bamboo Charcoal” which, though, has a very limited use within the domestic market but it is hugely in demand in the international market.

However, the Indian bamboo industry is not able to tap the opportunity due to its “export prohibition”.

Saxena said this would not only enable the industry to exploit huge global demand but also enhance the profitability of existing KVIC units by proper utilisation of bamboo waste and thus contribute to the Prime Minister's vision of 'Waste to Wealth'.

(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)