Bamboo industry urged to focus research on marketable products

KUCHING: Sarawak’s bamboo industry must focus its research and development efforts on commercially viable products rather than spreading resources across too many species and applications.

Deputy Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Minister, Datuk Len Talif Salleh said a more focused approach is necessary to produce high-quality bamboo products capable of competing in international markets.

He cautioned that conducting trials on too many bamboo species simultaneously could dilute resources and affect the industry’s ability to develop competitive products.

“If we do a trial on too many species, 20 or 30 species on trial, then we spread our resources too thin.

“So let’s be focused on something that we need to do and do it well, rather than do everything, but half-heartedly. We cannot penetrate into the international market,” he said.

He said this when officiating at the Sarawak Bamboo Day 2026 seminar and Bamboo Bazaar at The Waterfront Hotel here today.

Len said research should prioritise indigenous and endemic bamboo species, including their propagation methods, silvicultural treatments and potential industrial applications.

He noted that the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) is currently conducting commercial trials involving bamboo charcoal briquettes, activated carbon, bamboo shoot flour and pulping in collaboration with industry players.

However, he stressed that research findings must eventually be translated into industrial products for commercialisation.

“The lab results must be transformed into industrial products for commercialisation. This is where collaboration with other agencies concerned comes in,” he said.

Len also noted that many bamboo products showcased at the Bamboo Bazaar remain at the prototype or research stage, requiring further development before entering wider markets.

He said more efforts are needed to market these products through collaboration with international brands, investors and start-ups.

Such efforts, he added, would help move locally developed bamboo products towards semi-commercial and commercial production.