Economic Benefits Analysis of Barbecue Bamboo Charcoal Plants at Different Production Scales in the Fujian Province of China

Abstract

Financial data of barbecue bamboo charcoal plants located in the Fujian province, China with annual productions of 1000 MT, 2000 MT, and 3000 MT was investigated to compare the economic benefits. The project was evaluated based on the time of purchasing bamboo processing residues as the starting point and the sale of barbecue bamboo charcoal as the end point. Calculations of the net present value (NPV), dynamic investment pay-back period (PBP), internal rate of return (IRR), and break-even point (BEP), and a sensitivity analysis were performed. The plant with an annual production of 3000 MT had good economic benefits with an NPV of 3.1 million USD and PBP of 2.89 years. The IRR and BEP of the plant were 44.4% and 63.8%, respectively, indicating that the plant had a good ability to adapt to market changes and resist risks. The sales prices had a greater impact on the sensitivity than the plant operating costs. Thus, high-quality barbecue bamboo charcoal should be produced to increased the price of the product for better economic benefits, even though all of the plants had good market prospects. A large-scale plant should be designed for better economic benefits if there are adequate raw materials.