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SMALL BUSINESS

Cane industry close to oblivion

Repayet Ullah Mikdiia
The country’s once famous cane industry now battles (or its existence.
The district of Sylhct was known far and wide for its intricate cane furniture. The circumstances arc so grim now that only a few cane furniture manufacturers arc holding on to their ancestral business.
The invasion of modern and cheaper wood and plastic furniture, the use of land for agriculture instead of growing cane, and mind less deforestation in parts of Sylhct, drove the industry to neardeath.
Bangladesh currently imports cane worth Tk 3 crore to make furniture for household use. A portion of furniture is exported. Industry insiders admit that only a few companies arc involved in this trade, as the prices of raw materials on the global market are high.
The golden time of Sylhet cane ranged from the 1920s to 1970s, says Pasha Ali, owner of Manau Rattan Furniture Industry in Sylhet, one of the major cane furniture exporters.
1 low did the cane industry once flourish in Sylhet?
A Dutchman, who was a cricket lover, is said to have initiated the cane industry in Sylhet in 1885. The Dutchman who had lived in the Malnichhara tea estate in the district used cane sticks as the stumps in cricket. He discovered that such sticks also functioned well in manufacturing household furniture. He pioneered the use of cane by making furniture for his bungalows, locals say.
Influenced by the Dutchman, other foreigners living in the area
and some local elites started using cane furniture in their homes, says Ali.
In the early 1940s, many Germans and other Europeans fell in love with cane furniture during their visits to Sylhet.
“I struggle to continue my ancestral cane exporting business, where 30 skilled workers manufacture the furniture. The dearth of skilled workers is a main drawback to this industry," Ali says, describing the current situation of the industry in Bangladesh.
"Design and attention to detail are major prerequisites to this industry. We have li ttie expertise in
this regard."
He imports expensive cane from Indonesia to manufacture furniture, as there is no ample supply of cane in Bangladesh now. The local cane furniture market is valued at a meagreTk 3 crore.
The industry could have been in the ranks of the garments sector now, in terms of export potential, if proper attention and planning were ingrained at the right time, Ali says. 'Phis industry was once promising because it has elements of value addition and is also labour-intensive.
Cane importers mainly manufacture cane furniture for the local
market, as they no longer view the export of such furniture as a lucrative form of business, traders say.
The market size of cane industry in Europe and USA, the main markets for such furniture, is $3 billion a year. Indonesia controls 90 percent of those markets.
Ali says the leading local furniture manufacturing company Otobi recently contacted him, to purchase cane furniture for its overseas markets.
The annual turnover of Ali's venture is more thanTk 1 crore. He exports furniture worth Tk 20 lakh a year.
Being a professional cane fumi-
lire maker, Pasha All identifies five major causes of the industry's riling condition: lack of inputs like incentives, no technology or manpower development, a lack of confidence in the trade by banks and other financial institution*, scarcity of land and a lack of internal promotional programmes.
Experts say the revival of cane cultivation for manufacturing the furniture will be quite difficult as cane plants are mainly grown in natural marshy lands, rather than in artificial cultivation.
'That’s why Indonesia is the best place for growing cane,’ Ali says.
Ali, who spent considerable time in Indonesia, says it takes at least 30 years for a cane plantation to fully mature.
Deforestation further dampened the hope of revival of this trade in the region. The main area for cane cultivation was the hilly parts of Srimangal, as the area is swampy, which is an aid to cane cultivation.
There is still light at the end of the tunnel, as Bangladesh has availability manpower, a vital ingredient of the industry. They can be trained easily, just like in the garment industry, to take this industry forward, Ali says.
Talking to The Daily Star, Mohammad Hannan, a resident of Sylhet, says the cane furniture industry in Sylhet is now in shackles, as raw materials are no longer available.
"Early in our childhood, we saw many cane farms in the jungles of Sylhet and Srimangal. The industry now suffers due to the clearing of trees for urbanisation,” Hannan says.
reefat@thedauystar.net