Product Resource Economic value Category
Quantity, value Remarks References Plants and plant products
Food 2 Phdeak
Varnish, lacquer Melanorrhea laccifera re N, I Export: 494 MT in 1983–95 Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce, 1983–93
Diospyror sp. fr N, I Export: 2.4 MT in 1983–95 Annual Report of Ministry of
Commerce, 1983–93 Cinnamomum incerne fr N, I Export: 1.76 MT in 1983–95 Annual Report of Ministry of
Commerce, 1983–93 Sterculia colocata se N, I Export of seed: 50.5 MT in
1983–95
Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce, 1983–93 Strychnos nux-vomica se N, I Export of seed: 214 MT in 1983–
95
Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce, 1983–93
Aquilaria crasna N, I Export: 3 653.95 kg in 1983–95
Exports to the west of Aquilaria crasna: 265 MT in 1983–95
Annual Report of Ministry of Commerce, 1983–93
1 Rattan Calamus salicifolius Calamus rudentum Calamus viminalis
st F W N, I Export: 120 MT in 1999
Exudates 2 Resins Dipterocarpus alatus Dipterocarpus intricaryus Shorea vulgaris
st F W N, I Export: 41.975 MT in 2000
Importance: 1 – high importance at the national level; 2 – high importance at the local/regional level; 3 – low importance Parts used: an – whole animal; ba – bark; bw – beeswax; le – leaves; nu – nuts; fi – fibres; fl – flowers; fr – fruits; gu – gums;
ho – honey; la – latex; oi – oil; pl – whole plant; re – resins; ro – roots; sa – sap; se – seeds; st – stem; ta – tannins Habitat: F – natural forest or other wooded lands; P – plantation; O – trees outside forests (e.g. agroforestry, home gardens) Source: W – wild, C – cultivated
Destination: N – national; I – international
CHINA
INTRODUCTION
Main non-wood forest products
The important NWFP of China are exudates, essential oils, bamboo, food (e.g. fruits, nuts and mushrooms), honey and medicinal plants.
General information
NWFP hold great significance in China for the nutrition and health care of rural households.
NWFP statistics have been compiled on data which were issued in publications such as Forestry Yearbook of China (1980–1997), Forestry Information of China (1980–1996), Agriculture Yearbook of China (1980–1996) and the Chinese Customs Yearbook (1996).
In China, NWFP are divided into 10 categories: woody plants for food and oil; resins;
perfumes or spices; beverages; mushrooms; medicinal plants; plants for fodder; animal;
products; bamboo and rattan; fruits and nuts. In addition, forest services (including ecotourism) are included in the concept of NWFP.
Table 1. The production of major NWFP in China (in tonnes)
NWFP 1995 1996 1997
Raw lacquer 2 971 3 994 4 415
Tong oil tree seed 402 148 410 066 453 355 Camellia oil seed 623 126 695 733 856 868
Tallow tree seed 38 834 42 306 40 912
Chinese gallnut 10 085 9 879 11 060
Palm tree bark 52 955 58 549 58 158
Pine seeds 548 157 580 819 702 982
Dried bamboo shoots 174 561 183 052 217 216
Walnut 230 677 239 162 248 383
Chestnut 247 025 340 302 378 183
Scraped lac 3 415 3 019 2 711
Source: China Forestry Yearbook (1995–1997)
Forest plantations are a very important feature of the forest resources in China; over 670 000 ha of plantations for economic purposes (called locally “economic forests”) have been established each year since the 1990s. Presently, the economic forests of China have an annual production value of over ¥40 000 million. Economic forests are established for cash crops of (woody) plants for food, fruits, nuts, tea, silk and medicines. At present, there are over 1 000 factories, employing over 100 000 people, and producing many kinds of products; they form an integrated production system based on the chemical extraction and processing of harvested NWFP from economic forests.
Table 2. Average annual domestic consumption levels of major NWFP in China
NWFP Production x104
MT
NWFP Production x104
MT
Lycium barbarum 0.45 Walnut 15
Chinese tea 7.58 Chestnut 12
Apple 450 Chinese date 40–50
Pear 250 Camellia oil 15
Orange 460 Dried bamboo shoots 2
Grape 87 Fresh bamboo shoots 150
Banana 140 Bamboo poles 600–700
Kiwi fruit 34.7 Xanthoxylum sp. 3.1
Honey 17.8 Illicium verum 2
Source: China Forestry Yearbook (1995–1997)
The ownership of the NWFP resources in the forests belongs to the government or a collective, but people are allowed to harvest them. The NWFP are marketed domestically and internationally and a substantial proportion of NWFP is consumed by farmers and householders in the forest regions. Most of the NWFP is obtained from natural forest, but an increasing amount is being produced in plantations (economic forests; bamboo shoots, fruits and nuts are cultivated intensively. Resin, tong oil and tallow are collected from natural stands or plantations. Most NWFP are collected in small quantities, seasonally and manually, by women and children.
Table 3. International markets and trade flow for major Chinese NWFP
NWFP Annual production x104 MT
Annual export amount x104 MT
International market or trade flow
Resin 50.4 26.0 Japan, Germany, UK, France, Holland, Italy Tong oil 12.0 2.0 EU, USA, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong Tallow oil 2.0 1.5 EU, USA
Essential oil 0.45 0.26 European and American countries Lacquer varnish 0.3 0.2 Germany, Egypt, Indonesia, USA Bamboo poles 600-700 9.0 Germany, France, Holland Dried bamboo shoots 17.0 2.0 Hong Kong, Southeast Asia Shiitake 12.0 2.0 Transit trade in Hong Kong Black auricular fungus 0.5 0.1 Transit trade in Hong Kong White auricular fungus 0.1 0.05 Transit trade in Hong Kong Walnut 15.0 5.0 USA, EU, Australia,
Canada, Japan, Switzerland
Chestnut 3.3 2.5 Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, USA, Canada Pear 250.0 5.0 Hong Kong, Southeast Asia
Tea 7.6 2.5 USA, EU, Egypt, Russia Honey 17.8 -- Germany, UK, USA, Japan
Eucomia ulmoides gum 0.2 0.1 Japan, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Malaysia, Spain, UK
Ginkgo leaves 0.7 0.2 USA, Germany, France, Japan, Korea Wild brake 0.25 0.1 Japan
Source: China Forestry Yearbook 1995–1997
PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS
Food
In China, some 375 edible mushroom species can be found in the forests. Annually, over 1 000 tonnes of dried mushrooms are exported at a value of US$20 million. According to the Forestry Statistics (1977) the forestry sector produced 0.176 million tonnes of edible mushrooms and wild ferns.
Edible mushrooms are a major NWFP in China. Chinese mushrooms are also popular in international markets. Mushrooms exported from China are mainly black and white auricular fungus, winter mushroom and pine mushroom.
The total production of black auricular fungus (Auricularia auricula) and its production per unit area are increasing every year as cultivation techniques improve and better strains are being utilized. China is the main world producer of this fungus with an annual production of 46 000 tonnes and annual exports of about 1 000 tonnes, earning close to US$8 million. Most of the exports are to Japan, Southeast Asia, western Europe and northern America.
About 1 000 tonnes of white auricular fungus (Tremella fuciformis) are produced every year, of