Jamaica hosts Caribbean International Bamboo Symposium

As Jamaica prepares to host the International Bamboo Symposium Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon J.C. Hutchinson, today welcomed Prof. Lu Wenming, Deputy Director General of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation in China, and his delegation to the symposium to be held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, starting November 27.
The symposium, which is being held in the Caribbean for the first time, will have some 250 delegates from the Caribbean in attendance and is aimed at highlighting the benefits of bamboo production and manufacturing. It will culminate with a tour of several bamboo facilities across the island by delegates on Thursday, November 29.

In welcoming the delegation during a courtesy call at his Hope Gardens offices in St. Andrew on Monday, November 26, Minister Hutchinson expressed appreciation for the training which has been provided to Jamaicans in China in the production of bamboo by-products.
“We are hoping that this symposium will enlighten those who are not aware of the potential for the production of by-products from bamboo, for example, plates, forks, cups, bicycles, and houses,” said Minister Hutchinson.
Continuing, the minister said that bamboo is one of the strongest materials available for manufacturing and that going forward it would be included as one of the crops to be promoted in Jamaica for increased cultivation along with others such as Irish potato and castor beans.
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