Commercial edible bamboo species of the North-Eastern Himalayan region, India. Part II: fermented, roasted and boiled bamboo shoots sales

Abstract

The sales of fermented, roasted and boiled bamboo shoots in the market places of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim, of the North-Eastern Himalayan (NEH) region, India have been reported. The results are based on the survey of 118 markets covering 1200 primary and secondary vendors from 51 districts of NEH region. The consumption of fermented, roasted and boiled shoots was estimated to be ca. 680 tonnes; the highest occurs in Arunachal Pradesh (481 tonnes/year) and the lowest in Nagaland (19.5 tonnes/year). The bamboo shoots are consumed in the form of fermented-slice, crushed-fermented moist, crushed-fermented dry, fermented whole shoot, roasted whole shoot and boiled whole shoot in different states of the region. Cost–return analysis for sales of these bamboo products revealed a net income of 23 million rupees per annum (US$ 502 950) from the entire region with the highest (17.5 million rupees/year or US$ 38 270) in Arunachal Pradesh and the lowest in Sikkim (0.47 million rupees/year or US$ 10 280). Employment opportunities have also been worked out and ca. 1260 persons/year could earn their subsistence through selling of bamboo shoot products.