Exporting bamboo products overseas

As Tet approaches, the production workshop of VNS Phu Tho Bamboo Cooperative (Cooperative), Dong Luong commune, Cam Khe district, directed by Mr. Nguyen Duc Vuong, becomes increasingly active and lively. Bamboo materials are used to manufacture a wide range of products, including knives, spoons, forks, straws, household utensils, trays, kettles, cups, mugs, tea containers, tables and chairs, as well as interior and exterior decorating and design for homestays and resorts.

Bamboo is placed in the soaking tank and cleaned.

Hang it outside to dry...

In 2018, Mr. Vuong located raw materials, borrowed funds to invest in machinery, constructed a factory, and created his first product, mostly straws, all with the goal of producing ecologically friendly bamboo goods. By 2021, he had chosen to form VNS Phu Tho Bamboo Cooperative with seven members, generating more than VND100 million in capital, improving development circumstances, and finding perfect shared partners, as well as searching for raw materials and clients.

The items are made by competent individuals.

Bamboo trees are soaked, washed, dried to color and straightened, chopped into pieces based on product needs, then planed, pressed, dried, engraved and shaped, polished into products that are attractive, sophisticated, practical, and safe to use. As a result, the cooperative’s bamboo goods are well-known and in high demand.

In addition to exhibiting traditional items, participating in shows, and connecting with product consumption in the area and nearby provinces, VNS Phu Tho Bamboo Cooperative established a website and registered to sell through the floor. E-commerce transactions and social networks are used to launch, promote, and sell bamboo items in the market. So far, the cooperative has produced high-quality bamboo decor and household items, as well as interior and exterior designs for restaurants, hotels, homestays, resorts, and market exports.

From 2022 until the present, the cooperative has been recognized by Phu Tho province for product groups (knives, spoons, forks, bamboo straws) obtaining four-star OCOP and product groups (trays, kettles, cups, mugs, bamboo tea boxes) obtaining three-star OCOP. These items are pushed and sold from north to south, with exports to Korea, India, Japan, France, and America...

After three years of operation, the cooperative has brought several dependable items to market. It has grown from a small production-to-order company to a staff of approximately 20 highly skilled technicians.

Each month, the cooperative acquires between three and four thousand bamboo trees and raw supplies from districts around the province, as well as Cao Bang and Bac Kan provinces... to support production. Bamboo products are becoming more sophisticated, ranging from everyday items like bamboo chopsticks, bamboo straws, bamboo spoons, thermos flasks with bamboo shell, pen boxes, and pens with bamboo shell to sophisticated and elaborate large-scale products like bamboo sofas, bamboo tables and chairs, bamboo tea sets, interior and exterior designs, homestays, resorts...

VNS Phu Tho Bamboo Cooperative’s revenue averages five to VND6 billion per year, providing steady employment for 18 local people with an average monthly pay of VND5-12 million.

From skilled hands, the creativity of young, passionate, and strong-willed workers like Mr. Vuong has raised the value, bringing bamboo trees to the global market, creating economic efficiency and co-production, and contributing to the spread of Vietnamese cultural values through seemingly simple materials.

Photos of bamboo items that have been brought to market.

Bamboo straws are the initial product of the cooperative.

Diverse goods were gradually developed and brought to market.

Many clients choose tables and chairs made of bamboo.

The cooperative implements interior and exterior design projects, as well as dwellings constructed from bamboo materials.

Moc Lam