Avery Dennison, Youngone to set up manufacturing unit in Bangladesh

[Pak Nationalist]

Yes, your BD friend is correct to say that jute demand has dwindled. The main reason is the use of oil-based plastic goods. This started during the mid-1970s.

Another reason is the nationalization of the jute industry immediately after the 1971 war. The initiator was Mujib and his BAL Party. BAL wanted to employ many of its supporters in this sector. For the last 50 years, the jute industry kept on losing money. Only recently, the GoB has stopped its operation.

I believe a day to come when the entire world would again come back to jute goods only because of pollution that the plastics industries create.

Jute will have a place in the sustainable economy of the future. My own work is in this domain. I see a much larger role for hemp though which would be in clothing. Jute would be used for high-strength requiring applications.

 

[Pak Nationalist]

I think Balochistan needs investment in mine extraction. All the minerals that the internet sources say, need to be extracted in Balochistan where agricultural land is in short supply. Gwadar Port will be busy with the opening of many mines there. Baloch people will also get jobs.

However, I have a feeling that there are people who oppose the development of Balochistan unless their wealth is directly controlled/ shared by some people from some other Province. This issue must be solved for the sake of fairness. However, I believe a country's wealth belongs to the govt and the entire population.

Quotation from the Internet:

"Balochistan is the richest mineral province of Pakistan. The Chagai-Raskoh magmatic arc and Indus Suture are the richest metallogenic zones in the Balochistan province and also in Pakistan, however the Sulaiman and Kirthar are trying to lead in sedimentary minerals".

"Balochistan province has large proven reserves of indigenous iron, copper (associated some gold, silver, molybdenum), lead, zinc, barite, chromite, coal, gypsum, limestone (marble), ochre, silica sand, etc, small deposits of antimony, asbestos, celestite, fluorite, magnesite, soapstone, sulphur, vermiculite, etc."

Muhammad Sadiq Malkani, Geological Survey of Pakistan.

Even most Pakistanis do not recognize this, but Balochistan has HUGE potential for agriculture as well. It could become the food basket not just for Pakistan but entire South Asia. There are plains in Balochistan as well. Agriculture could thrive even in mountainous terrain subject to the availability of water. The network of irrigation canals is spreading in Balochistan and if prudent policies are made, things could move in the right direction. Balochistan has another problem and that is in the realm of quality human resources in government departments. With the 18th constitutional amendment that has handed over many subjects to provinces as part of governance decentralization, the Balochistan government simply does not have the capacity to undertake meaningful reforms in those domains.

Gwadar port's infrastructure is not completely set up yet. It will take maybe up to 2030 for it to begin proper operation in my view. I agree with Baloch nationalists. They deserve the first right to the wealth extracted from Balochistan (same should have been with East Pakistan; fatal mistake). However, Balochistan requires serious help from the center to develop the human capital that could govern the province on modern lines. The economic advisor to the Balochistan government in the last government was Dr. Kaisar Bengali (we still have Bengali Pakistanis who chose to stay after 71) who belongs to Sindh province. Such is the dearth of quality human resources that GoB had to import a nonresident economic advisor. Even if quality development work takes place in Balochistan and industry is developed, reliance on people from other provinces would be there. The solution is to equip the Baloch population with quality education. so a major chunk of the job market could be covered by them on MERIT and of course, people from other provinces could also come to work.

Mineral extraction is a politically sensitive subject. Pakistan itself does not have the technical capabilities to run the mine operations. We had to involve different international companies to extract and process the wealth of precious minerals found in Chaghai tract as you noted. We could have enriched ourselves if our own companies had the capability and capital to develop the copper and old mines sector.

Yes, your BD friend is correct to say that jute demand has dwindled. The main reason is the use of oil-based plastic goods. This started during the mid-1970s.

Another reason is the nationalization of the jute industry immediately after the 1971 war. The initiator was Mujib and his BAL Party. BAL wanted to employ many of its supporters in this sector. For the last 50 years, the jute industry kept on losing money. Only recently, the GoB has stopped its operation.

I believe a day to come when the entire world would again come back to jute goods only because of pollution that the plastics industries create.

Nationalization destroyed your jute industry that was working well (but in the hands of West Pakistani industrialists; side fact, Pakistan lost 70% of exports on the secession of EP). Nationalization by Bhutto destroyed our overall industry that was well on its way to producing Pakistani Mittals, Ambanis, and Tatas. He also filled industry with bureaucrats and PPP loyalists (a policy his party still continues and destroyed symbols of our national pride like Pakistan international airlines and Pakistan still mills by overstaffing), their productivity and quality of the produce declined as babus can't run industries. A gradual process of de-industrialization of Pakistan began. Pakistan is still struggling to overcome that blunder of Bhutto. Our manufacturing base was devastated. Both leftists on your and our side with their left-leaning economic policies created problems for their respective economies.

 

[bluesky]

Nationalization destroyed your jute industry that was working well (but in the hands of West Pakistani industrialists; side fact, Pakistan lost 70% of exports on the secession of EP).

Jute will have a place in the sustainable economy of the future. My own work is in this domain. I see a much larger role for hemp though which would be in clothing. Jute would be used for high-strength requiring applications.

In the construction fields here in Japan I can see many plastic fiber-made extralarge bags that may have a capacity of 1 ton. These are lifted by construction machines and loaded to or unloaded from the trucks.

The fibers are very thick with two loops/ handles for lifting up. The handles are extra strong and are sewed all around the bags. Hence, they can carry huge weights.

The bags are very strong and are used to carry soil, aggregate stones/ pebbles, and sometimes construction garbage. I think millions of such bags are used every day throughout the industrial world.

By watching these plastics bags every day, I feel that jute can substitute the plastics used in the bags except that the fabrics will have to be thicker than the plastic ones.

Jute is biodegradable and so eco-friendly. This is why jute will again take back its place in the world market.

 

[Pak Nationalist]

In the construction fields here in Japan I can see many plastic fiber-made extralarge bags that may have a capacity of 1 ton. These are lifted by construction machines and loaded to or unloaded from the trucks.

The fibers are very thick with two loops/ handles for lifting up. The handles are extra strong and are sewed all around the bags. Hence, they can carry huge weights.

The bags are very strong and are used to carry soil, aggregate stones/ pebbles, and sometimes construction garbage. I think millions of such bags are used every day throughout the industrial world.

By watching these plastics bags every day, I feel that jute can substitute the plastics used in the bags except that the fabrics will have to be thicker than the plastic ones.

Jute is biodegradable and so eco-friendly. This is why jute will again take back its place in the world market.

It is not as simple as that. The yarns you have seen are called high-performance yarns/textiles. While Jute is a very sturdy natural textile fiber, it still does not meet the strength of some of the high-performance fibers in the market. I see the rising use of Jute in household and geotechnical applications in the future (short-term, not long-term as it would degrade).