BEIJING - China and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) are willing to help Pakistan develop its bamboo industry and expose to more advanced technology and programmes, said Wu Junqi, Director of Communications and Outreach of INBAR.
He said joining INBAR would expose Pakistan to more advanced technologies and programme opportunities to develop its bamboo sector. “China has been sending bamboo charcoal masters from Zhejiang to Ethiopia and Africa for four years. Now the local people have their bamboo charcoal factories. Compared with normal charcoal, bamboo charcoal is much more environmentally friendly. China and Pakistan can also try to cooperate in this aspect,” Wu Junqi added.
Lu Wenming, Deputy Director General of INBAR, believes that the bamboo industry is a labour-intensive industry that suits Pakistan, and its characteristics of low-carbon and environmental protection are also in line with its current national strategy.
“China and INBAR are willing to help Pakistan research suitable bamboo species and share relevant technologies, equipment and experience. We are confident to help Pakistan in poverty reduction and prosperity in the future.”
Bamboo in Pakistan is of good quality and sells well in the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.
“We have bamboo business in Kasur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Kot Momin, Mandi Bahaud Din. It is a billion-rupee business,” said Akbar Ali, a bamboo dealer in Chunian, Kasur. “One farmer there told us that they had earned Rs 60 million in the last three years with three hectares of bamboos.” In Pakistan, bamboo production is considered economically viable and has market potential. However, due to the lacking of processing technology, Pakistan still stays in the primary stage of bamboo utilization.
“In Pakistan, bamboo is mainly used in the production of roofing materials, scaffolding and bamboo curtains. It is not a business for the rich in Pakistan. It is mostly used by the poor,” said Kalim Ullah, a bamboo businessman from Lahore. With the unremitting efforts of China and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), people all over the world have significantly improved their understanding of bamboo from “wood of the poor” to “green gold”. The exhibition hall of INBAR headquarters is full of innovative bamboo products.
“After high-pressure, cold pressing and hot pressing, bamboo becomes square-edged timbers. You can cut it and make it into USB flash disk, keyboard and mouse,” said Wu Junqi.
“This technology can help reduce wood consumption, and bamboo products are very popular in the European market,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Electrical Vehicle (EV) battery industry has great potential as the country has abundant lithium and copper resources, said Jian Peng, Pakistan’s Honorary Investment Counselor in China, who is also an expert on automobile industry in the Research Association of the China World Trade Organization.
Battery is a major part of electric vehicle (EV)’s production cost, and its main raw material is lithium. “Since Pakistan and its surrounding areas have abundant lithium and copper resources, its EV battery industry has great potential,” he told China Economic Net (CEN).
In the Automotive Industry Development and Export Plan (AIDEP 2021-26) in the Finance Act 2021 in Pakistan, sales tax on local EVs has been reduced from 17% to 1%. Custom duty on specific parts of the EV has been fixed at 1%. The main purpose of the policy is to overcome climate change issues and reduce oil import bills to save precious foreign exchange.
“As the government started to support the EV industry, more companies would invest in this field and make better quality products,” said Mian Muhammad Hafeez, general secretary of Lahore Car Dealers Federation, who also believes that locally produced EV battery is important for the development of EV industry. “If local batteries are made, the cost of battery replacement will be cheaper, which can help extend the guarantee period of the EV products and get better feedback from the customers.”
The Chinese government has given a lot of support to the EV battery industry in its early stage of development. The industry grew very fast, which lead to excess production capacity. At present, the market of EV batteries in China is occupied by the leading enterprises, a winner-take-all situation. Many second-tier EV battery factories with sophisticated technology started to turn to the foreign market to transfer their technologies and relocate their production lines. I think Pakistan can be one of their best choices.
“China’s leading EV battery companies, like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited(CATL), are now extending their business to a wider range. On the one hand, they are actively searching for more mineral resources. On the other hand, they are cooperating with automobile assembly plants in form of stock replacement or joint ventures, establishing battery production enterprises together. It can help allocate the resources within the industry more reasonably and strengthen the technology improvement.” Jian Peng believes that such experience can be referred by Pakistan’s EV companies.
The development of EVs in Pakistan should start with localized models with high cost performance. To accelerate the popularization of electric vehicles in Pakistan and reduce the cost for customers, Jian Peng also suggested the separation of car and battery.
“Customers can buy cars and lease batteries, so that customers have less financial stress to choose EVs in the beginning,” he added.
He said joining INBAR would expose Pakistan to more advanced technologies and programme opportunities to develop its bamboo sector. “China has been sending bamboo charcoal masters from Zhejiang to Ethiopia and Africa for four years. Now the local people have their bamboo charcoal factories. Compared with normal charcoal, bamboo charcoal is much more environmentally friendly. China and Pakistan can also try to cooperate in this aspect,” Wu Junqi added.
Lu Wenming, Deputy Director General of INBAR, believes that the bamboo industry is a labour-intensive industry that suits Pakistan, and its characteristics of low-carbon and environmental protection are also in line with its current national strategy.
“China and INBAR are willing to help Pakistan research suitable bamboo species and share relevant technologies, equipment and experience. We are confident to help Pakistan in poverty reduction and prosperity in the future.”
Bamboo in Pakistan is of good quality and sells well in the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.
“We have bamboo business in Kasur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Kot Momin, Mandi Bahaud Din. It is a billion-rupee business,” said Akbar Ali, a bamboo dealer in Chunian, Kasur. “One farmer there told us that they had earned Rs 60 million in the last three years with three hectares of bamboos.” In Pakistan, bamboo production is considered economically viable and has market potential. However, due to the lacking of processing technology, Pakistan still stays in the primary stage of bamboo utilization.
“In Pakistan, bamboo is mainly used in the production of roofing materials, scaffolding and bamboo curtains. It is not a business for the rich in Pakistan. It is mostly used by the poor,” said Kalim Ullah, a bamboo businessman from Lahore. With the unremitting efforts of China and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), people all over the world have significantly improved their understanding of bamboo from “wood of the poor” to “green gold”. The exhibition hall of INBAR headquarters is full of innovative bamboo products.
“After high-pressure, cold pressing and hot pressing, bamboo becomes square-edged timbers. You can cut it and make it into USB flash disk, keyboard and mouse,” said Wu Junqi.
“This technology can help reduce wood consumption, and bamboo products are very popular in the European market,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Electrical Vehicle (EV) battery industry has great potential as the country has abundant lithium and copper resources, said Jian Peng, Pakistan’s Honorary Investment Counselor in China, who is also an expert on automobile industry in the Research Association of the China World Trade Organization.
Battery is a major part of electric vehicle (EV)’s production cost, and its main raw material is lithium. “Since Pakistan and its surrounding areas have abundant lithium and copper resources, its EV battery industry has great potential,” he told China Economic Net (CEN).
In the Automotive Industry Development and Export Plan (AIDEP 2021-26) in the Finance Act 2021 in Pakistan, sales tax on local EVs has been reduced from 17% to 1%. Custom duty on specific parts of the EV has been fixed at 1%. The main purpose of the policy is to overcome climate change issues and reduce oil import bills to save precious foreign exchange.
“As the government started to support the EV industry, more companies would invest in this field and make better quality products,” said Mian Muhammad Hafeez, general secretary of Lahore Car Dealers Federation, who also believes that locally produced EV battery is important for the development of EV industry. “If local batteries are made, the cost of battery replacement will be cheaper, which can help extend the guarantee period of the EV products and get better feedback from the customers.”
The Chinese government has given a lot of support to the EV battery industry in its early stage of development. The industry grew very fast, which lead to excess production capacity. At present, the market of EV batteries in China is occupied by the leading enterprises, a winner-take-all situation. Many second-tier EV battery factories with sophisticated technology started to turn to the foreign market to transfer their technologies and relocate their production lines. I think Pakistan can be one of their best choices.
“China’s leading EV battery companies, like Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited(CATL), are now extending their business to a wider range. On the one hand, they are actively searching for more mineral resources. On the other hand, they are cooperating with automobile assembly plants in form of stock replacement or joint ventures, establishing battery production enterprises together. It can help allocate the resources within the industry more reasonably and strengthen the technology improvement.” Jian Peng believes that such experience can be referred by Pakistan’s EV companies.
The development of EVs in Pakistan should start with localized models with high cost performance. To accelerate the popularization of electric vehicles in Pakistan and reduce the cost for customers, Jian Peng also suggested the separation of car and battery.
“Customers can buy cars and lease batteries, so that customers have less financial stress to choose EVs in the beginning,” he added.
