Essay on Industrialization in Asian Nations

Nearly all the nations in Asia retain the traditional, cottage-type, small- scale handicraft industries, while a modernized manufacturing sector is slowly emerging. Only a few nations have been able to build a solid industrial base during the last two-three decades. Promi­nent among such nations are: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Israel, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The economies of most other nations are geared principally to the pri­mary activities (agriculture, forestry, mineral extraction, etc.).

Japan, India and China account for a large volume of Asia’s industrial output. They have received a larger share of attention in our account. A very brief account of the manufacturing activities of the rest of the continent is pro­vided in the following paragraphs.

In East Asia South Korea has recently taken great strides towards industrializa­tion, and is rapidly emerging as an important producer of automobiles, chemicals, and electronic equipment, al­though the traditional textile industry remains the single most important one. North Korea is an important manufac­turer of iron and steel, chemical products and defense-related heavy, metallurgical products (tanks, aircraft, etc.) In Taiwan, the labor-intensive light industry of con­sumer items (processed foodstuffs, textiles) predominated before 1970. Since then, in­vestment shifted to more capital-intensive heavy industry producing steel, petro­chemicals, machinery, and ships.

In addition, as the economy prospered and the nation accelerated efforts to develop its high-volume, high-tech industries such as the manufacture of precision instruments, and electronic materials. Since WWII, Hong Kong has emerged as an important producer of consumer goods, textiles, ships, chemical products, capitalizing mainly on its liberal economic policy.

Industrial development in the South­east Asian nations has generally lagged, re­sulting in part from the prevailing disturbed political conditions in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar but several nations such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have been able to make signifi­cant progress in expanding their manufacturing base and modernizing it.

Singapore offered a particularly liberal cli­mate for foreign investors. Its manufactured items include rubber goods, chemical products, textiles, high-skill and capital-intensive materials, ships and virtu­ally all types of consumer goods. Beginnings of modern industrialization are visible in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines as well.

While agricul­ture remains prominent in the economies of these nations, recent attempts to manu­facture rubber goods, petrochemicals, steel products and textiles have been successful. The industry is primarily owned and con­trolled by the governments of these nations. Much of the small-scale industry of textiles and consumer items is owned by the Chinese community.

In the Indian subcontinent, there was very little manufacturing activity in Paki­stan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka prior to gaining independence from the British control in the late 1940s. Manufacturing activity since then has also been slow. In Bangladesh jute manufacturing located in the capital city of Dhaka remains the chief industry.

Pakistan is attempting to mod­ernize and expand its traditional industries of textiles and food processing and since the mid-1950s has been producing chemi­cal fertilizers, petrochemical and engineering products. Manufacturing re­mains of minor importance in Sri Lanka. However, like Pakistan, it is attempting to develop oil refining, chemical and textile industries.

Predictably industrial activity in the Gulf States (Persian or Arabian Gulf) is es­sentially associated with oil refining and the manufacture of petrochemical prod­ucts and localized in the port cities of Daharan (Saudi Arabia), Abadan (Iran), Kuwait, and Baharain, while the tradi­tional, small-scale industries like textiles, carpet-making and food processing con­tinue to flourish in nearly all the countries, but more specifically in Iran, and Iraq. Among the newer industries developed during the last few decades the manufac­turing of iron and steel, automobiles and defense-related products in Iran and Iraq are noteworthy.

In the Middle East the greatest devel­opment in manufacturing has taken place in Israel since its inception, but consider­able gains have been made in Turkey as well. Israel produces defense-related mate­rials (aircraft, tanks), sophisticated precision goods (Electronic and electrical equipment), fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Turkey’s manufactured items include iron and steel, chemicals, oil refining and textiles.

In Central Asia, manufacturing devel­opment has largely taken place during the Soviet rule. The major industrial center is in Kazakhstan where iron-steel, cement and fertilizer industries were established in the mineral-rich Karaganda region.

Plants producing heavy metallurgical machinery were set up in Uzbekistan as well. The na­tions of Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan contain such light indus­tries as textiles of woolen and silk materials, food processing and the manu­facture of carpets and leather products.

From the standpoint of industrial de­velopment, Transcaucasia is a better- developed region of Southwest Asia. It is rich in resources such as coal, hydroelec­tric power, and nonferrous metals. A number of industrial centers such as Baku, Batumi and Tbilisi producing cast iron and steel goods, locomotives, rubber and petro­chemical products, cement, textiles, and processed food.