Vietnamese company exports bamboo drinking straws

Nguyen Van Mao from the central province of Nghe An has been exporting bamboo drinking straws to European countries.

Mao's bamboo drinking straws are exported to European countries. 

The increasing numbers of people wanting to give up the use of plastic products was a driving force for him to produce environmentally friendly drinking straws. During trips to mountainous areas, he found large bamboo area which could source his business idea.  

Mao said the custom of drinking wine through bamboo pipes gave him the idea of producing bamboo drinking straws in 2017. For five months he went to many provinces and cities to study market demand and the material supply for his production.

He recruited local people to work in his workshop. Bamboo and rattan pipes are cut into pieces 15 to 25 cm long and dried at 120 degree Celsius. Mao also carves words on straws according to customer request.

Mao asked his friends and relatives abroad to help promote his bamboo drinking straws as no Vietnamese businesses had ever exported similar products.

The first order was 2,000 straws shipped to Hungary. After Mao’s products received a certificate of food safety and hygiene in Germany, foreign clients visited his factory and placed orders for millions of straws.

Mao said “Our clients are trade promotion companies and exporters. Some visited our factory to see our production lines and negotiated a better price.”

Bamboo drinking straws have become more popular as of late. Mao’s drinking straws are used in many coffee shops and restaurants in cities and provinces around Vietnam.

Nguyen Chi Dung, owner of a coffee shop in Hanoi said, “We use bamboo drinking straws in replacement of plastic straws to protect the environment. We have special tools to clean them and reuse them many times.”

Mao’s bamboo straw factory in Dong Nai province produces millions of straws per month. He is planning to produce bamboo forks, spoons, and knives.