Good income from growing bamboo shoots

BPO - In recent years, in addition to key crops such as cashew, rubber, pepper, etc., many farmers in Binh Phuoc have boldly sought new directions to develop their family economy. In the picture of crop restructuring, bamboo shoots are gradually showing their role as an effective crop, suitable for the province's natural conditions.

ONE BAMBOO ROOT, TWO SOURCES OF INCOME

With the characteristics of red basalt soil mixed with steep hills and a typical hot and dry climate, choosing suitable crops for economic development is a difficult problem for many farmers in Binh Phuoc. However, the story of crop conversion of Mr. Nguyen Van Nguyet in Cay Go hamlet, Quang Minh commune, Chon Thanh town is a testament to the boldness of change to create a stable income on his homeland. Mr. Nguyet shared: “A few years ago, the economy was difficult, so I discussed with my family to switch to growing bamboo shoots for daily income. At first, it was hard work, but after 2 years now, the income from bamboo shoots is stable.”

Fresh bamboo shoots are harvested and sold right in the garden, helping farmers earn daily income.

In Chon Thanh town, Mr. Nguyen Kim Thanh, Director of Thanh Tam Bamboo Shoots Cooperative (Thanh Tam ward) highly appreciated the potential of bamboo shoots: “Bamboo is easy to grow and has good yield. Compared to rubber, 1 hectare of bamboo shoots is easier to grow and the economic efficiency is also higher. Especially, in areas with poor, infertile land and difficulty in cultivating crops, bamboo is the optimal choice.”

In fact, households that have grown bamboo for long-term shoots have shown that if well cared for, each hectare can generate an income of 60-90 million VND/year for bamboo for shoots. “With an area of ​​3-4 hectares, income can reach 200-300 million VND/year. During the off-season when bamboo shoots are priced high, income can reach 150 million VND/ha/year,” Mr. Thanh added.

Mr. Vo Duc Nghia in Quarter 1, Thanh Tam Ward - who has been growing bamboo for more than 10 years, affirmed: "If the season is good, the price of bamboo shoots can reach up to 32,000 VND/kg, especially from October to March of the lunar calendar. In a year, my family earns 300-350 million VND from fresh bamboo shoots. If combined with cutting bamboo shoots for sale, the total income can reach about 500 million VND per year on an area of ​​6 hectares".

In addition to selling fresh bamboo shoots, many households have also developed the business of grafting bamboo shoots. With each seedling costing from 20,000 to 35,000 VND, this business has helped many farmers increase their income significantly. Many gardeners are preparing tens of thousands of seedling pots to supply the market from now until the end of the rainy season.

One of the strengths of bamboo is its high adaptability to many types of soil, including poor soil or riverside and lakeside soil. After about 1.5 years of planting, the tree begins to yield and can last up to 15 years if well cared for. The initial investment cost is not high, the planting technique is simple, there are few pests and diseases, and little care is required. Growers only need to harvest, process, weigh the bamboo shoots and sell them right in the garden.

Mr. Nghia added: “With adequate fertilizer and irrigation, bamboo trees can produce bamboo shoots almost all year round, and the trees only rest for more than a month while the garden recovers. In particular, if planted in alluvial soil along rivers and lakes, the trees grow quickly and the bamboo shoot yield is much higher.”

TO BE SUSTAINABLE, WE MUST ESCAPE THE SITUATION OF "SELLING FRESH"

Despite bringing about quite good economic efficiency, bamboo shoots are facing many challenges. The increasingly erratic weather, late rains, and prolonged hot weather in 2025 have affected crop yields. In addition, the peak harvest of bamboo shoots coincides with the wild bamboo shoot season, causing a sharp increase in market supply, pushing bamboo shoot prices down.

Not only harvesting fresh bamboo shoots, farmers also have additional income from selling bamboo shoot seeds.

At the beginning of the season, the price of bamboo shoots fluctuated from 20,000 to 22,000 VND/kg for the good type; by June, the price had dropped to only about 8,000 VND/kg, small bamboo shoots cost 4,000 VND/kg. After consecutive rains, the current price is only 3,000 VND/kg for grade 1 bamboo shoots and 1,500 VND/kg for grade 2 bamboo shoots. However, for long-time growers, this is not too strange. Because according to the cycle, when the weather turns sunny and dry, the price of bamboo shoots will gradually increase again. It is important to maintain stable output and keep the bamboo shoot garden healthy. Therefore, if well cared for, the bamboo shoot garden maintains a stable output, then bamboo growers can still have a stable income. On average, after deducting costs, farmers can still make a profit of about 5-12 million VND/month per hectare. When prices are low, growers should proactively reduce watering, save costs, and wait until prices increase to increase care for harvest.

The biggest difficulty that bamboo growers are struggling with is the product output. Currently, bamboo shoots in Binh Phuoc are mainly consumed in the form of fresh bamboo shoots domestically, and sold retail in traditional markets. The whole province does not have a large-scale processing factory, does not have its own brand, and has not yet reached the export market. Mr. Vo Duc Nghia expressed his concern: “There are many households growing this type of tree in Binh Phuoc. Therefore, if there are investors building factories to process dried bamboo shoots and pickled bamboo shoots for export right in the province, the price of bamboo shoots will certainly be more stable, and growers will be assured of long-term development.”

In the picture of the province's agricultural economic development, bamboo shoots are emerging as a crop suitable for the goal of sustainable poverty reduction. The advantages of being easy to grow, having a quick harvest time, and being suitable for difficult-to-cultivate lands have opened up opportunities to improve the lives of rural farmers. In particular, the parallel combination of two sources of income from fresh bamboo shoots and bamboo seedlings is bringing double efficiency. According to calculations by long-term growers, if the weather and prices are favorable, the annual income from fresh bamboo shoots and seedlings can be equal to or higher than that of traditional crops such as cassava and rubber.

However, for bamboo shoots to truly become a key crop, creating a unique mark for the province, it requires the synchronous participation of local authorities, functional departments and branches, and especially the support of processing enterprises. Building a closed value chain from production, harvesting, preliminary processing to consumption and export is the key factor to help bamboo shoots develop sustainably; turning bamboo shoots from a poverty-reducing plant to a plant that enriches many farming households in the province.

Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/4/174579/thu-nhap-kha-tu-trong-tre-lay-mang