Lunch boxes made of bamboo shoot shells go on display. [Photo/Huzhou News and Media Center]

In Meixi town, Anji county, Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, Zhejiang Fenghui Bamboo and Wood Products Company recently packed a shipment of meal boxes made of bamboo shoot shells, destined for Japan.

Bamboo, wood and grass product exports are a key industry in Anji county, significantly boosting the region's economic growth.

According to Huzhou Customs, from January to May this year, the city exported 68,000 batches of bamboo, wood and grass products valued at $800 million.

Zhejiang Fenghui, a leading exporter, produces bamboo packaging, bamboo tableware, and bamboo lighting products — with 70 percent shipped to Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company's annual output now tops 130 million yuan ($18.12 million).

"Bamboo is a biodegradable, recyclable material. We use every part of it — stems, branches, skins, and even shoot shells — to create daily-use items that replace plastic. Our newly developed lunch boxes made of bamboo shoot shells alone have generated over $500,000 in overseas sales," said Liang Fenghui, the company's general manager.

Huzhou's bamboo companies also integrate traditional craftsmanship to boost the appeal of their products abroad. Huzhou Wanhong Arts and Craft Company, a modern inheritor of bamboo weaving, blends sustainability with aesthetics, meeting the global demand for natural, pollution-free products.