Abstract

Most commercial bamboo in Kerala grows on home-gardens rather than in forests. This cultivated or rural bamboo supplies an established marketing system dominated by wholesale depots in Palakkad district. This system extends beyond the border of kerala State (which constitutes only a small part of the trade) into Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other states. Although less than forty years ago, the amount of bamboo traded has been stable over the past ten years and the price has been rising steadily. Despite farmers general ignorance of bamboo's market value and the added costs resulting from government permits, the farm-gate price and the percentage of the wholesale price received by farmers is reasonable, especially given the low level of inputs. The available evidences suggests that even though the demand from some sectors is declining, depletion of forest bamboo means there is increasing demand from other sectors. Nonetheless, farmers are disinclined to invest in bamboo, perhaps