Manufacturing Case Study Essay Example for Free

Manufacturing Case Study Essay Introduction Before a manufacturing process can be selected to manufacture a component many things need to be considered. The design of the product, the functionality, the service conditions and the properties of the material all play a big part when considering the manufacturing process. This study looks at Polypropylene Chairs used mainly for education purposes. It provides information that explains the purpose of a chair; the requirements of this particular product and the manufacturing process that produces the final component. To understand why this type of chair is made from polypropylene the reader first needs to understand the basis of any chair. A chair is a raised surface for a single person to be seated. The majority of chairs are produced with the standard four legs but it’s the design of the chair and its intended use that takes most consideration. The use of the chair will determine the design and the material used. For example; is the chair to be used at a desk or for sitting at a dining table to eat? The users’ weight needs to be evenly distributed over the chair to provide comfort whilst seated. If the chair is to be used for long periods of seating then it is beneficial for the chair to be slightly reclined, which will support the persons back more and remove the weight from other parts of the body. If a chair is too high then shorter people will have their feet dangling, causing pressure on the knees; whereas lower seats cause discomfort to the buttocks. Section One Looking at the requirements of this type of chair we can see it is not the most comfortable chair on the market but then these chairs are not used for long periods of sitting. They are mainly used within canteens, hospitals, libraries and schools for short sitting periods; meaning that they are mass produced. Due to the amount of chairs that are manufactured there is a requirement to keep the production cost low. They are tough chairs that can come in a variety of colours, can be used in or outside and have the advantage of being able to stack away; saving space. The chair is required to hold a variety of people with a range of body weight and height so they are required to be stable, strong durable and withstand movement whilst being lightweight. This style of plastic chair is made of a thermoplastic polymer called Polypropylene (PP). It is a thermoplastic that has a two dimensional structure. The plastic can be softened by heat and recycled. The material is produced by the polymerisation of polymer molecules into very long chains. The material is a â€Å"semi-crystalline solid with good physical, mechanical and thermal properties†. The properties of PP in its liquid state are defined by the length and breadth of the polymer chains that form during the process. When PP is in its solid state the properties are based on how much crystalline and amorphous region forms from those chains. [Karian, Ph.D., Harutun G, Handbook of Polypropylene and Polypropylene Composites, 1999, New York, NY, USA, Pg 15] FIG 1. Example of the chain of Isotactic polypropylene PP is semi-crystalline; meaning that it contains small crystals and material that is amorphous and Isotactic. The chains are closely packed together and the amount of van der Walls bonding is at a maximum, making the material strong as a solid object. The polymer chains determine the weight of the material and the crystals within the chains determine how thick the material can be and in turn this will impact on how much heating is required to mould the material. â€Å"The crystallisability of the chains is one factor that determines how thick the crystallites will be and the thickness of the crystallites determines how much heat energy is required to melt them†. [Karian, Ph.D., Harutun G, Handbook of Polypropylene and Polypropylene Composites, 1999, New York, NY, USA, Pg 17] PP is stiff, with a low density. It has good resistance to impact and fatigue, excellent chemical resistance, a high heat resistance and an excellent moisture barrier. Having good structural characteristic s makes PP a useful material for rigid objects. PP has a good balance between its physical and chemical properties. Due to the high mould shrinkage of PP it is difficult to achieve close tolerances but because the material is tough, resilient and has a high resistance to stress cracking it reduces the need for close tolerances. Having a very low density of 0.90g/cm^3; a low cost per volume; a wide flexibility when it comes to design and it also being recyclable makes PP an attractive construction material. PP has the advantage of being able to form high volume, complex shapes at a relatively low cost. When using CES software and comparing the price against the fracture toughness it provides the user with all known materials. Using the limit function and applying a Young’s modulus of 2GPa and a minimum tensile strength of 40MPa Fig 2 Materials based on Price against Tensile Strength The chairs are made of PP because the material is inexpensive, easy to clean, lightweight and durable. The material can be tough and flexible with a high tensile and compressive strength. The main reason that this material works well when manufacturing these chairs is down to the precise control of the impact strength, they do react when exposed to heat meaning that they hold their shape and provide good properties within the human environment, especially when in an outside environment. Section 2 Polypropylene is most commonly manufactured using extrusion, or injection moulding. Extrusion allows extremely large batches of uniform cross sectional shape items to be produced. Hot extrusion is when the polymer is heated first to make it more malleable, and then ‘pushed’ through a die. Pieces made using extrusion have an extremely high quality of surface finish, meaning they do not require finishing after manufacture. [pic] FIG 3. Extrusion Process Injection moulding is achieved by melting the polymer in a barrel, and then forcing or injecting it into a mould. Some injection moulding machines are screw fed. As the piece cools, it shrinks slightly in the mould. This can cause product defects especially if the mould is poorly designed. It allows for the production of very accurately shaped pieces. When the piece is removed from the mould, it will have a contour line called a ‘parting line’ where the mould closes on it, and often will be marked by the ejector pin with a small circle. If the manufacturer does not want these marks on their product, then it will require post-manufacture finishing, but otherwise the finish is of a relatively high standard. FIG 4. Injection Moulding Process Some chairs could be manufactured using extrusion, if they were a flat ‘L’ shape for example. However most chairs are shaped for ergonomic and structural reasons, and would require a more accurate manufacturing process. This would be injection moulding, as thick struts can be included in the design to aid the strength of the chair, and a comfortable dip can be shaped into the back of the seat to make it more appealing to the user. As chairs of this nature are designed for a very wide range of users, and with durability in mind, the material is required to be fairly thick to accommodate this need. This would slow the manufacturing process with injection moulding as it would take each piece longer to cool, and therefore a longer wait is required before the piece can be removed from the mould. The thickness of the piece would have little effect on an extruded product, as the die can be made whatever size is desired. The weight of the chair would have little bearing on manufacture in either of these methods, except for the amount of material needed. For a batch of 1000, extrusion would be an excellent process, as enough material for the whole batch can be melted and pushed through the die, and the pieces cut from the section after extrusion. Large batches can be produced very quickly in this way. Injection moulding would take longer, as each piece must be made individually, unless the mould is designed with several chairs in, each connected by a ‘strut’ of waste product. This increases the amount of waste material, and the initial set up costs due to the mould design, and a larger machine being required. Section 3 There are many factors to consider when forming a component from composite. Failure to consider these factors can drastically change the material properties and this in turn could lead to an unsatisfactory component. A polymer matrix for the composite is an excellent base; their material properties already provide many favorable attributes such as high corrosion resistance and low density. The introduction of a secondary reinforcing agent will provide a synergetic effect to the mechanical properties of the material allowing a better component. One of the factors that are critically important in the production of a composite is the format of the secondary phase; it is a key factor to the materials properties of the component. There are three mostly used forms for the reinforcing of secondary phases; these are long/short fibers, or particles. Long fibers, also known as continuous fibers, are fibers that are layered in strips or woven into a pattern along an axis. The fibers generally consist of a much stronger material than the polymer matrix; as such the fibers take a much greater load compared to the polymer matrix. This allows for a material with much better load bearing properties. The increased ability to take load is based upon the direction of the fibers. When bearing load, the best mechanical properties are obtained in the direction of the fibers. There are many different orientations used by fibers, orienting the fibers in one specific direction is often used when the direction of the force is constant. Planar reinforcement is used when the direction of force is only along one plane of action. Short fibers, also known as continuous fibers, are fibers that have been cut into relatively short strands. The shorter nature of these fibers means that they can be orientated in lots of patterns and directions. As well as being able to be orientated in one specific direction and along one plane like long fibers, they can also be orientated randomly. This random orientation allows for a uniform distribution of the reinforcing ability of the fibers; therfore increasing the load bearing ability in all directions instead of just one, or a single plane. If particles are introduced into a polymer matrix, their effects vary greatly compared to their size. Very small particles act as a barrier to dislocation movements; this hardens the matrix material due to the fact that dislocations cannot propagate as easily through the structure. Smaller particles cannot take loads due to their size, so the load bearing ability of the composite is based upon the matrix material. If larger particles are introduced they can take some of the load, this allows the composite of the two to take a larger load. Due to the nature of particles the matrix is naturally able to take isotropic loads. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] Fig 5. A Chart Showing Long/Short fibers as well as Particles. Orientation of reinforcement is another major factor in the production of a composite component. Not taking into account the direction of reinforcement can have unfavorable material properties. Materials are either isotropic or anisotropic in one or more directions. Isotropic orientation is achieved when the fibers are randomly oriented, or particles are introduced into the matrix composite. The effects of this type of orientation are that the load can be taken uniformly in all directions. This is advantageous because it allows for a material that is not constrained by loads in one direction. The downside is that the material properties can never be as strong as if they where aligned to one direction. Anisotropic orientation is when fibers are aligned to a specific direction or plane. When the load is applied in this direction is extremely strong, this means that an anisotropic composite material has extremely beneficial properties in the direction of the fibers. The further the load gets from the direction of the fibers the less beneficial the material properties are until the load is perpendicular to the fiber direction. When the fiber direction is perpendicular to the fibers the maximum strength is the strength of the primary matrix. If the concentration of fibers is high enough the strength in the perpendicular direction can be significantly less than the primary polymer. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] Fig 6. A Chart showing Anisotropic and Isotropic Orientations The chair, due to its function, has various limits that need to be applied when taking into account the construction of the composite. The forces inherent in the use of a chair are not in one direction, or even one plane of action. This means that an isotropic composite is best suited for the chair, as a planar or singular direction of fibers wouldnt be beneficial to the mechanical properties of the component. Due to the composite that is being used it must have an isotropic orientation so only discontinuous fibers or particles can be used; continuous fibers cannot be used feasibly in an isotropic orientation. A short fiber based second phase would increase the toughness of the component as well as increasing the stiffness and strength in all directions. These properties seem more favorable than those of particulates which increase fatigue strength. Short fibers in a random orientation would be beneficial for a seat; this would allow it to take impacts during its service as well as remaining in shape and resisting bending. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181-183] The length of the short fibers would be above the critical length value; this is based on the diameter of the fiber, the ultimate tensile strength of the fiber and the shear strength of the matrix-fiber interface. The diameter of the fibers should be as small as possible to allow for a higher tensile strength. [Mikell, P. Groover, Principles of Modern Manufacturing Fourth Edition, 2011, New Jersey, NJ, USA, Pg 181 Figure 8.15] The Volume fraction of a composite is the product of: (Volume of Fibers/Volume of Composite). It is a way of expressing the amount of fiber in a composite, it is also very useful in refining the properties of your composite. The volume fraction for our composite should be greater than the critical volume fraction. A volume fraction lower than this means that the matrix would break before the fibers could support the load applied. This can be given by: Vcritical = (ÏÆ'm* ÏÆ'm / ÏÆ'f* ÏÆ'm) ÏÆ'm* = Matrix Ultimate Tensile Strength ÏÆ'm = Matrix Yield Strength ÏÆ'f* = Fiber Ultimate Tensile Strength Once a value for Vcritical is determined, this can be used as a basis for determining the volume fraction you want. Any volume fraction must be above Vcritical so that the matrix is actually strengthened by the addition of the fibers. You can continue adding a higher concentration of fibers until you begin to imbrittle the polymer matrix composite due to the excess fiber content. Without knowing the exact fiber and matrix choices it would be hard to predict the volume fraction this would occur at, as a guideline the value would be any value greater than 0.7. Therefore the volume fraction should lie above Vcritical. To ascertain the best value for the volume fraction you would have to do testing on the composite at various volume fraction values and use the results to determine which would be the best for the chair component. Using a randomly oriented short fiber composite would enhance the material properties. The random orientation would make it able to handle forces from all directions and the short fibers would increase various mechanical properties such as toughness, tensile strength and fatigue strength. This material composite would produce a very light and strong structure which should be able to withstand alot more than the polymer alone. The synergetic effect of this composite allows it to attain a much higher specific strength than the polymeric design. It also attains a much higher stiffness than the original design; allowing it to maintain its shape more consistently during its service time, and it also means it is less likely to fail due to a sudden shock. The increased fatigue strength would mean that the material can maintain its service for a longer period of time due to its ability to withstand crack propagation and its resistance to mechanical defects building up over time. SECTION 4 In section 2, it was decided that the best process chosen for producing the chairs was extrusion molding over injection molding as it was a faster process and allowed for less waste material. This process is not suitable for the addition of short fibers too the polypropylene, instead reinforced reaction injection molding would make a better choice. Reaction injection molding is a low pressure process used to cure thermosets that require a chemical reaction rather than heat. This process requires two reactive ingredients which are mixed and injected into the mold cavity where the curing and solidification processes occur rapidly. This process can be used for large parts as well as complex shapes. When reinforcing fibers are used in the mixture the process is called reinforced injection molding. [pic] FIG 7. IMAGE OF REINFORCED REACTION INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS The capital start up cost for this process is high but due to the low pressures that are used in the process it balances out cost. The initial batch size chosen for the production of the chairs was 1000 units. This figure works with reinforced reaction injection molding as it allows for economic bath sizes between 100 and 10000 units, so even if batch sized was reduced by a tenth of its original size or increased by 10 times the size this process can still be economical to the manufacturer. REFERENCES [27 Mar 2012] [27 Mar 2012] Stephen Pheasant, 2nd Ed; Bodyspace: Anthropometry, Ergonomics and the Design of Work; Taylor Francis Ltd [2011] [20 Feb 2012] FIG 7. (http://composites.owenscorning.com/processes/Reaction_Injection_Molding.aspx) http://staff.bath.ac.uk/msscrb/dent.pdf equation 5, page 1657 FIG 1 [Polypropylene Molecule, Chempolymerproject, [Online] Available: [https://Polypropylene-B-CABA] [28 Mar 2012]] FIG 3 [Extrusion of a Round Blank through a Die [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org (2011)] FIG 4 [Injection Moulding Machine [Online] Available: http://www.engineerstudent.co.uk (2011)]

Free Essays - Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

A FAREWELL TO ARMS Do you agree that Farewell to Arms is as successful in the portrayal of fear and suffering as when he writes of courage and comradeship?   The four themes of fear, suffering, courage and comradeship are prominent issues which are raised in the novel Farewell to Arms. The protagonist, Frederick Henry faces fear when he is injured where he admits his own fear. He shows courage without second thought when he helps injured men coming from the front. Individual suffering is shown through the eyes of Frederick Henry having to face the death of his wife and child. Physical suffering is obviously shown by the men that get injured in the war. This physical suffering provides the context in which courage can take place. Comradery, surprisingly, doesn't seem to be as obvious in the novel as the other themes; it is mainly shown by the nurses' commitment to one another and the 'male bonding' at the mess. There also seems to be more of an individual comradery within friendships and with individuals rather than a whole group. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a sense of people working together for a common cause. These four themes contribute to the many decisions that Frederick Henry has to make. That is in regards to the war and his relationship with Catherine, he has an inner conflict with himself with external forces pulling him in opposite directions which the protagonist must sort out which is more important to follow. Frederick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers, whom is portrayed by Hemmingway as a 'lost man' searching for order and value in his life. The fear and suffering the Frederick Henry has in his life which he experiences by the war, shows him how pointless the war is, he disagrees with the war because it is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. However, he fights anyway, in order to achieve the discipline which the army forces into his life.  Ã‚   The courage he has in the war and comradeship or the individual comradeship he has with various people such as Catherine and the priest gives him a sense of order and value in his life that the war does not give him. Frederick Henry befriends the priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle.

Ocean Noise Pollution

For millions of years, the oceans have been filled with sounds from natural sources such as the squeaks, moans and clicks of whales and dolphins, the snapping of shrimp, the sound caused by wind upon the surface and even the occasional rumble from earthquakes. Over millions of years, the ocean's marine species have developed into what they are today, with their own specialized acute hearing abilities, communication skills and echo location abilities at natural sound levels.Hearing is generally as important to many marine creatures as sight is for humans. The oceans once referred to as the â€Å"The Silent World† by Jacques Cousteau, has now become an increasingly noisy place since the industrial age. According to Wikipedia, Noise Pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. Noise pollution could also be defined as a type of energy pollution in which distracting, irritatin g, or damaging sounds are freely audible.As with other forms of energy pollution (such as heat and light pollution), noise pollution contaminants are not physical particles, but rather waves that interfere with naturally-occurring waves of a similar type in the same environment. Thus, the definition of noise pollution is open to debate, and there is no clear border as to which sounds may constitute noise pollution. In the narrowest sense, sounds are considered noise pollution if they adversely affect wildlife, human activity, or are capable of damaging physical structures on a regular, repeating basis.Hearing is the universal alerting sense in all vertebrates. Sound is extremely important because animals are able to hear events all around them, no matter where their attention is focused. Sound travels far greater distances than light under water. Light travels only a few hundred meters in the ocean before it is absorbed or scattered. Even where light is available, it is more difficu lt to see as far under water as in air, limiting vision in the marine environment It is similar to looking through fog on land.So, the best opportunity for long-range vision underwater especially in murky water is to swim beneath objects and see their silhouettes. In consequence, most marine animals rely on sound for survival and depend on unique adaptations that enable them to communicate, protect themselves, locate food, and navigate underwater. Animals change the rate of sound production and the structure of the sounds to send different messages. Underwater sound allows marine animals to gather information and communicate at great distances and from all directions.The speed of sound determines the delay between when a sound is made and when it is heard. The speed of underwater sound is five times faster than sounds traveling in air. Sound travels much further underwater than in air. Thus marine animals can perceive sound coming from much further distances than terrestrial animals . Because the sound travels faster, they also receive the sounds after much shorter delays (for the same distance). It is no surprise that marine mammals have evolved many different uses for sounds. Marine mammals, such as whales, use sound to identify objects such as food, obstacles, and other whales.By emitting clicks, or short pulses of sound, marine mammals can listen for echoes and detect prey items, or navigate around objects. This animal sense functions just like the sonar systems on navy ships. It is clear that producing and hearing sound is vital to marine mammal survival. Whales and dolphins are celebrated for their sounds, but many species of fish and marine invertebrates also use sound. Fish produce various sounds, including grunt, croaks, clicks, and snaps, which are used to attract mates as well as ward off predators.For the toadfish, sound production is very important in courtship rituals. Sound is produced by the male toadfish to attract the female for mating and is especially important in the murky waters that toadfish inhabit where sight is limited. Fishes also produce sound when feeding. When a fish eats hard food, such as coral, it will produce a sound. Fishes sometimes gnash their teeth without the presence of food, which may be a way to scare away predators. As you can see, sound is very important to its underwater inhabitants.It allows them to navigate, to hear approaching predators and prey, and is a way of communicating with other members of the same species. There are a lot of sources of noise in the marine environment. Naturally occurring noises include underwater volcanic eruptions and storms. Background noise in the ocean is produced by breaking waves, wind and rain, and by the huge number of small crustaceans and other animals. A typical background noise level is about 100 decibels (dB), which is about the same in energy terms as 40 dB in air.Wind and waves in storms, and choruses from fish and invertebrate can increase this level to about 120 dB. Measurements show that the Pacific Ocean is still relatively quiet and that most of its background noise is produced by wind and by marine creatures. This is in contrast to the Atlantic Ocean, where most of the background noise is from the churning propellers of ocean-going ships. There are also several man-made (anthropogenic) sources of ocean noise, some of which are the unintended by products of human activity (e. g. essel propulsion), while others are produced for a specific purpose (e. g. military sonar). Whales, dolphins and porpoises today face a wealth of man-made threats including hunting, ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear and issues arising from climate change. However, one man-made threat that is not as commonly acknowledged as others is ocean noise pollution. This is partly due to the fact that it is not a visible threat, so can be easily overlooked. The noise becomes problematic and highly hazardous when it is man-made.In the past several year s many studies have shown that man-made ocean noise emanating from such sources as are military sonar equipment, ship traffic, and underwater drilling, commercial shipping seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration, mineral and aggregate extraction, construction (e. g. drilling, dredging and explosions), acoustic deterrent and harassment devices(e. g. pincers on fishing nets used to deter predators) and recreational activities(e. g. boating). Noise pollution in the oceans has been shown to cause physical and behavioral changes in marine life, especially in dolphins and whales, which rely on sound for daily activities.However, low frequency sound produced by large scale, offshore activities is also suspected to have the capacity to cause harm to other marine life as well. It can also cause hemorrhage or other trauma to the marine mammal’s auditory system, sometimes leading to permanent hearing loss, and, indirectly, death. It also causes displacement from their natural habita t, disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, and other behaviors vital to the species survival. Some of the sounds produced by these man-made sources can travel for hundreds of kilometers in marine environment, potentially affecting many marine animals over a huge are.The growing amount of human noise pollution in the ocean could lead fish away from good habitat and off to their death, according to new research from a UK-led team working on the Great Barrier Reef. Noise pollution might also severely affect the distribution of fish, and their ability to reproduce, communicate and avoid predators. For example, some studies have reported that Atlantic herring, cod and blue-fin tuna flee sounds and school less coherently in noisy environments. That could mean that fish distributions are being affected, as fish avoid places polluted by man-made noise.Not only can squids and octopuses sense sound, but as it turns out, these and other so-called cephalopods might be harmed by growing noise pollution in our oceans—from sources such as offshore drilling, ship motors, sonar use and pile driving. Giant squid, for example, were found along the shores of Asturias, Spain in 2001 and 2003 following the use of air guns by offshore vessels and examinations eliminated all known causes of lesions in these species, suggesting that the squid deaths could be related to excessive sound exposure.The effects of noise pollution on whales depend, among other things, on the distance the whales are from the source of the noise. If the sound is very powerful and close to the animals it could well bring about permanent ear damage, internal injuries, and even death. Even sounds less powerful can induce temporary deafness, as was shown by studies carried out on seals, dolphins and belugas in captivity. Knowing just how dependent whales are on sounds, there is much cause for concern.During March of 2000, at least 17 whales stranded themselves in the Bahamas and the population of beaked w hales in this region disappeared. A federal investigation identified testing of a U. S. Navy active sonar system as the cause. There are many things we can do to decrease ocean noise,† Ocean Link, an organization dedicated to ocean education, says on its website. â€Å"The first would be to simply recognize that there is a noise problem in the oceans, which some governments have begun to do. With formal recognition, it may be possible for national and international agencies to work together to help reduce this problem.For any new policies regarding ocean noise, scientists should follow the precautionary principal to ensure that no further harm will come to marine mammals. From this perspective, governments should adopt legislation with the habitats of marine mammals in mind, ensuring that important areas would receive the least impact possible. † While these may come too late for hundreds of sea animals that have already been damaged by underwater noise, with the right and concerted action, the seas may resonate with the sounds of whale songs, not the human-produced lethal noises of engines and machinery.

Study Of The Sugar Industry In Pakistan Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 13 Words: 3991 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The sugar industry plays an important role in the economy of the country. It is the second largest industry after textiles. The sugar sector constitutes 4.2 per cent of manufacturing. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study Of The Sugar Industry In Pakistan Finance Essay" essay for you Create order In size, the sugar sector almost matches the cement sector  [1]  , however, its many backward (sugarcane growers) and forward linkages (food processors) in the economy indicate that its indirect socio-economic impact in overall terms is significantly larger than its direct contribution to GDP. At the time of independence in 1947, there were only two sugar factories in Pakistan. The output of these factories was not sufficient for meeting the domestic requirements. The country started to import sugar from other countries and huge foreign exchange was spent on this item. Need was felt to increase the production of sugar. Keeping in view the importance of sugar industry, the Government setup a commission in 1957 to frame a scheme for the development of sugar industry. In this way the first sugar mill was established at Tango Muhammad Khan in Sind province in the year 1961.  [2] No. of Mills Crushing Capacity 6.1 Million tones Contribution to Economy Share in GDP Employment Total Investment 3.0 4.0 Million Tones 1.9% 1.5 million (directly indirectly) PKR 100 Billion (Approx) Average Yield Per Hector 46.8 Tones Total Cane Production 45.0 55.0 Million Tones Cane Available 30-43 Million Tones Average recovery of sugar 9.1 (vs. world avg. 10.6%) Per Capita Consumption 25.8 kegs. Contribution to exchequer Rs. 12.16 Billion Table : Key Facts of Sugar industry of Pakistan, BOI Govt. of Pakistan Currently Pakistan is the 5th largest country in the world in terms of area under sugar cane cultivation, 11th by production and 60th in; yield. Sugarcane is the primary raw material for the production of sugar. The sugar industry in Pakistan is the 2nd largest agro based industry comprising 81 sugar mills with annual crushing capacity of over 6.1 million tones.  [3]  According to Ministry of Industries and Production; total crushing capacity of the Sugar mills is about 505,000 tons per day. The average capacity utilization of the sugar mills during the last five years remained 70% to 74%. The Sugar industry employs over 75000 people, including management experts, technologists, engineers, and financial experts, skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers. It contributes around 4 billion rupees only under the head of excise duty and other levies to the Government are also paramount significance. Sugar Production in Pakistan The Pakistan is an agriculture country, and agriculture is backbone of economy. Pakistan is also main producer of sugar in worldwide. Sugarcane is an important cash crop of Pakistan. It is an important source of income and employment for the farming community throughout the year. It forms the basis for many important industries like Gur, molasses, alcohol, sugar beverages, chipboard, paper, confectionery and provides raw materials to mainly other industries such as chemicals, plastics, paints, synthetics, fiber, insecticides, detergents etc. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations and FAOSTAT, Pakistan is ranked fifth in world cane acreage and 15th in sugar production. Sugarcane is grown on over a million hectares and provides the raw material for Pakistans sugar mills. Its share in value added of agriculture and GDP are 3.4 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Although, Pakistan happens to be the worlds fifth largest grower of sugarcane it has per haps the lowest yield in the world. The average sugarcane yields in Pakistan have remained between 40-45 tons per hectare which is considerably less than those obtained in many other countries. Average yield of sugarcane in the world is around: 65 metric tons per hectare and Asia 65.4 while China 77.1, India 70.6, Pakistan 46.0, Philippines 92.6, Thailand 92.6, Australia 75.5 and Egypt 105 tons per hectare. The sugar recovery is 8.5 % against the obtainable recovery of 10.5%.  [4] Sugarcane production is cyclical as the interests of farmers and industry is often at odds. Industry procurement practices such as delaying the crushing season, buying cane at less than the support price, short weight, false deductions and delayed payments reduce returns to farmers. Sugar millers complain that farmers grow unapproved varieties with low sucrose content, thus resulting in lower sugar production and recovery rates.  [5] For 2008-09, sugarcane has been sown in the area of 1029 thousa nd hectares, 17.1 percent lower than last year. Sugarcane production for the year 2008-09 is estimated at 50.0 million tons, against 63.9 million tons last year. This indicates significant decline of 21.7 percent over the production of last year. The main reasons of lower production are shortage of irrigation water, shifting of area to rice crop less use of DAP and non-payments of dues to farmers by the sugar mills on time for the last years crop.  [6] The following table shows the area cultivated production and yield for sugarcane production. In this also we see the comparison of last five years; Table : Area, Production and Yield of Sugarcane, Economic Survey of Pakistan 2008-09 According to Annual report 2009 of PSMA the reason is milling policies of the current crushing season have provided strong disincentives to sugarcane growers. Sugar mills reduced the price offered per 40 kilos by Rs 5.0 about US$ 0.08 and continued the practice of taking large deductions to meet their cane quality standards, causing cane growers to shift to more profitable crops. For the year 2009/10 sugarcane production is forecast at 53.6 MMT, an increase of 4 percent over the previous year due to an expected increase in area and yield. A shortage of cane supply during the current crushing season led to an increase in cane prices. This situation benefitted growers who received prices higher than the indicative prices announced by the Government. This development is expected to contribute to an increase in sugarcane area and productivity in the ensuing year. Moreover, last years higher production of rice and sunflower led to lower prices received by farmers, thereby encouraging the switch back to sugarcane.  [7] Sugarcane production for year 2009/10 was estimated at 53.6 MMT, which shows an increase of 4 percent compared to that of previous year. This increase was due to an increase in area and yield. A shortage of cane supply during that crushing season led to an increase in its prices. This situation benefitted growers who received prices higher than the indicative prices announced by the Government. This development contributed to an increase in sugarcane area and productivity in the ensuing year. Moreover, a higher production of rice and sunflower 2008 led to lower prices received by farmers, thereby encouraging the switch back to sugarcane. CONSUMPTION In 2009/10 sugar consumption is forecast at 4.35 MMT. Total per capita refined sugar consumption was estimated at 25 kilograms, based on improved domestic supply and strong demand. Retail sugar prices were expected to increase 46 percent above the last years average prices. Much of this increase of price was currency devaluation followed by a rise in international prices. Moreover, the stability of retail prices depended upon timely imports and prevailing prices in the international market. REASONS OF CRISIS Year 2009 saw a natural decrease in the production of sugar. One of the main reasons being that farmers only grow the products giving them maximum benefit. In year 2008 the government increased the price of wheat to Rs. 950 in order to give farmers an incentive to grow wheat. This caused the non growers to grow wheat. Similarly, sugarcane farmers also switched to wheat production. Other than this the production of sugarcane also declined due to difficulty faced in its production. These difficulties included water shortage, behavior of the mills management, late payments, and increase in the input costs, diseases and rodent attack. Mill owners especially got blamed for late or no payments to farmers and limited irrigation water. These two major factors caused the supply of sugar to decrease by 15 to 20 percent as compared to its previous year. Furthermore, the biggest sugar producers, India and Brazil faced unfavorable weather conditions for sugarcane growth. This reduction in global supply caused the price of sugar to credibly increase. Another problem occurred when the wholesalers and mill owners artificially created a shortage of sugar to increase its prices right before Ramadan. These mill owners buy sugarcane 3 to 5 months before hand. Further they limited the supply so that prices of sugar would go up. The main incentive of course was profit. These mill owners have a monopoly in the market and so they are able to control the prices. So all in all in order to manipulate prices, the supply of sugar was artificially reduced in Pakistan. Considering the above stated reason, government mismanagement and sugar industry profiteering are the main reason for sugar crisis in Pakistan in the period 2008 2009. Although the government did watch crop production and was aware of the potential sugar shortage,  it failed to act timely. Various reports in December indicated that the total production was  3.2 million tons while demand was betw een  3.4 to 4.0 million tons. The government solution was to import duty free raw sugar of  300,000  tons so that the mills could process it. However, at that time, the government feared that if they imported duty free raw sugar, then  mill owners would not buy from the local market. Nevertheless, delaying the time of purchase did not seem to be a good idea especially as international price of sugar shot up and sugar was nearly twice as expensive to import. Moving on, the government was aware that sugar consumption always increases around Ramadan. It should have been responsible for managing the shortage in an effective manner. Unlike wheat and other crops, sugar can be easily stored for a long period of time. But  the government did not maintain a stock to prevent crisis. Other than this, if mill owners and wholesalers are manipulating to maximize profit then a strict action should have been taken on the part of government to stop them and m ake certain policies that secures the right of public to a commodity of daily use like sugar at a nominal price at least when it is available. But the government did not respond to this and remained indifferent. Role of political figures in sugar industry Pakistan: The sugar crisis remained there in the economy of Pakistan for a long time. At one point in time the Finance Minister claimed that our government was unable to deal with the powerful sugar manufacturers. The regulatory body had long warned about the anti-competitive and restrictive practices of the sugar industry but no one paid attention to these warnings. Sugar mill owners have always been able to control the price of sugar, once again, due to bad policies of some minions of the state. Due to growth in population of Pakistan and increased industrial activity, the forecast of sugar requirement which was made for the 2009-10 was 4.2 million tons against a total expected production of 3.5 million tons by the countrys 73 plus sugar mills. It is in the knowledge of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), that a powerful lobby representing the millers interest, has often made common cause against sugarcane growers who have to generally wait a lot to sell their crop. In spite of importing sugar, the millers have been lobbying for permission to meet the deficit by importing raw sugar and later on by processing, they could process it into refined sugar for sale in the local market. To counterbalance this scenario, the sugarcane growers should also be permitted to convert their crop into gur or raw sugar for sale either to the sugar mills or in the local market. When the idea of importing raw sugar was floated last year, the sugarcane crushing season was about to start in November. At that time, some circles felt that if the permission to import raw sugar was allowed immediately, the sugar mill-owners may not remain very enthusiastic about the procurement of sugarcane from the producers. In the meantime, the news about the likely shortage of sugar in Pakistan reached the global community. Consequently, the price of sugar, including brown sugar, started rising in the international markets. Currently, raw sugar price in the international market is hovering around Rs. 52-54 per kilogram and when processed into refined sugar the cost may go up to Rs. 60-62 per kilogram. Anyhow, the government has now allowed the millers to import 300,000 tons of raw sugar to mitigate the impact of the current sugar crisis, which poses a serious political challenge to the government due to the fact that some political figures, mostly in the opposition, have big stakes in sugar mills. In Pakistan, the sugar sector constitutes 4.2 per cent of manufacturing. Likewise, the mills manufacture sugar for five months but have to release their stock uniformly over the year. Stock piling thus becomes an issue. A study on the sugar sector by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) reveals that restrictive practices in this sector are widespread. Although CCP does not have sound proof of a sugar cartel in Pakistan, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest about the existence of parallel pricing in this sector. Currently there are 79 sugar mills oper ating currently in the country, amongst them 33 are owned by the renowned political figures. Following paragraph provides the list. NAME Designation (owner of ) : SUGAR MILL NAME Ch Zaka Ashraf President ZTB Ltd Ashraf Sugar mills Haseeb group Cousions of Main Nawaz shareef Brother Sugar Mills Abdullah sugar mills Haseeb sugar mills Salman Shehbaz Son of Mian Shehbaz sharif , CM Punjab Ramzan Sugar mills Nawaz shareef Ex prime minister Chaudry Sugar mills Abdullah Yousaf Sugar Mills Itefaq sugar mills Humayun Akhtar Khan Former Commerce minister , leader of PML-Q Faisalabad Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Muzaffargarh Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Dera Ismail Khan Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Jehangir Tarin cousin of Humayun Akhtar khan (Two)JDW Sugar Mills United Sugar Mills Amer Sultan Cheema son-in-law of Ch Shujaat, President of PML-Q National Sugar Mills Sargodha Nasrullah Dareshk Former federal minister Indus Sugar Mills Abbas Sarfraz Former federal minister Premier Group(contains 4 mills) Saleem Altaf former federal minister Baba Farid Sugar Mills Shakargan j Mills. Fehmida mirza Speaker national assembly Mirza sugar mills The original owner of the Ansari and Sakrand Sugar Mills in Sindh is the top man of the country, but they said mills are being run by others. The network of political authorities compelled the Federal Minister for Industries who is Mian Manzoor Ahmed watoo, to fix the ex-mill price of sugar at Rs 48 per kg in the province Sindh and Rs 49.75 in Khaibar Pakhtoonkhuah(NWFP) and Punjab .Immediately after the Punjab government made a deal with sugar mills, and according to that deal the ex-mill price was set at Rs 45 instead of the aforementioned prices, the chief executive of the country came into action and accorded approval to Rs 45 as ex-mill price across the country. After much chaos in the country, the Ministry of Industries and Production and All-Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, finally reached an agreement to sell sugar at ex-mill rate of Rs. 48 per kilogram in Sindh as mentioned earlier and Rs. 49.75 per kilogram in Punjab. As a follow-up to this agreement, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo revealed in the recent year of 2010 that the government has withdrawn cases which were registered against sugar mill owners in order to improve sugar supply chain and to stabilize its prices. Research has however shown that the input cost of the sugar stands at Rs 33.48 per kg which means that after cartelization and mutual agreements they have setup a high margin and has been dishonest with the masses by selling sugar at Rs 50 to Rs 55 per kg still has the maximum margin to pocket the profit of Rs 12 per kg when the ex-mill price was fixed at Rs 45 per kg. Khalid Mirza, who is the Chairman, Competition Commission, Pakistan. Made fine to the cement industry Rs 6.23 billion after it was evident the there is a cartel among cement manufactures just like in case of Sugar. He resolved to act accordingly, in the case of sugar industry, and not get under pressure by the political players. There is dominant political lobby of the self-interested sugarcane growers and the sugar industry, which has always made it possible to set the prices according to their vested interests and therefore deceive masses. In November 2008 the Ministry of sugar Industries sent a summary report to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), seeking permission of the import of raw sugar because of the shortage of sugarcane crop by 14 million tones. At that time Pakistan produced 50 million tons less by 14 tones in comparison with the sugarcane production of 64 million tons in 2007. Pakistan produced sugar of 3.2 million out of 50 million tones sugarcane crop however the requirement was 4.2 million tones sugar. The TCP documents suggests that Pakistani government , few months later, in February 2009, made an import of 25,000 tons of sugar at $451 per ton which is equivalent to PKR 51 per kg at Karachi sea port. few months later in April th ey imported 50,000 tons at $474 per tones (Rs 53 per kg) at Karachi port again and in the same month it again imported 50,000 tons of sugar at prices of $494 per ton (Rs 55 per kg) and in the month of August 75,000 tones at $638 per ton, meaning the total cost of the sugar is at Rs 74 kg. SCENARIO OF SUGAR INDUSTRY IN 2010: The sugar industry in Pakistan continued to deal with uncertainty in 2009 due to decreasing sugar production and a lack of coordinated government policy. This uncertainty has been seen in the current fiscal year 2010.The sugar industry has been showing varying trends in the current year. At July end, just a fortnight before the advent of Ramadan, there was Rs.10 per kg increase in the price of sugar sold at the utility stores. The objective of the move was to counteract against hoarding by profiteers during the holy month. The six-member ministerial committee once again relied on the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to import 375,000 metric tons of sugar to replenish supplies, which it had earlier held responsible for the failure to import 1.2 million metric tons of the commodity by June 30.Previously Economic Coordination Committee made efforts to improve the sugar supply in the market, and it even authorized the committee to import sugar by either negotiating deals dir ectly with the private sector or by tendering, whichever way the sweetener reached the country quickest. The six member committee was constituted after the TCP failed to import 1.2 million metric tons of sugar on the government directive to meet the shortfall between production and consumption. The government had estimated the shortfall of over one million metric tons. At the last ECC meeting, it was told that official sugar stock was sufficient only for 13 days. At the meeting, the sugar price was fixed at Rs55 per kg, up by Rs10 from the currently-pegged official rate of Rs45 per kg. The government took this decision to avert pressure from the utility stores after the commodity prices started witnessing an upward trend in the run-up to Ramazan. The new rates will take effect from the first day of the holy month. After Ramazan, according to the committee decision, the difference between the open market and utility stores would not be of more than Rs10 per kg. This stood as a broad hint that the commodity prices would further register a Rs5 per kg increase after Ramazan as the market rate is hovering above Rs70 per kg. c.gif The committee also recommended allowing duty-free import of 500,000 metric ton of raw sugar till November 30, 2010 on a first come, first served basis. The committee also decided that with the completion of the current sugar import process the market forces will be allowed to prevail and the private sector would be encouraged to import sugar. The crisis in the sugar industry prevailed in mid 2010 because of failure on part of the cabinet to implement its decision of export of raw sugars and because the government failed to implement the recommendations of the regulator under the influence of vested interests. The latest October/November story of sugar industry includes hoarding scenario and recovery of 35000 bags of sugar which has impaired the credibility of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. Business recorder summarizes this story as: The raid at the mills as reported in the press has tarnished the image of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association in a press conference held on November 8 2010 had stated that sugar industry had already exhausted its stocks based on data received from member mills, including Hussein Sugar Mills Limited which reported 1.5 ton as remaining balance as on October 31, 2010. The recovery of 35,000 bags by Administration has raised questions and grossly impaired the credibility of PSMA. The Punjab government on November 30th informed the Lahore High Court that delayed import of sugar by the federal government had caused shortage of sugar in the province and its sale on high price. The latest October/November story of sug ar industry includes hoarding scenario and recovery of 35000 bags of sugar which has impaired the credibility of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. Business recorder summarizes this story as: The raid at the mills as reported in the press has tarnished the image of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association in a press conference held on November 8 2010 had stated that sugar industry had already exhausted its stocks based on data received from member mills, including Hussein Sugar Mills Limited which reported 1.5 ton as remaining balance as on October 31, 2010. The recovery of 35,000 bags by Administration has raised questions and grossly impaired the credibility of PSMA. The Punjab government on November 30th informed the Lahore High Court that delayed import of sugar by the federal government had caused shortage of sugar in the province and its sale on high price. The average retail sugar price in Karachi on November 30th was Rs 88 per kg, Rs 8 5 and Rs 88 in Peshawar and Quetta, respectively. However, the retailers in Lahore and Islamabad were selling sugar at Rs 72 per kg, the price officially announced by the government. Industries and Production Secretary Abdul Ghaffar Soomro said the sugar prices were directly linked with the price of sugarcane and the federal government had no control over that matter. He said the indicative rate announced by the Punjab government was Rs 125 per 40 kg, but the farmers were selling it at Rs 150 per 40 kg and in Sindh the mills were buying sugarcane at Rs 160 per 40 kg against the indicative price of Rs 217 per 40 kg. The sugar crisis is expected to resurface next year due to lack of coordination among various organs of the government and in the absence of any regulatory body to control sugar prices. Inadequate reserves with the provincial departments led to a free hand to market manipulators, who gradually increased the prices to more than Rs 100 per kg a few days ago. The quant ity sanctioned to the provinces and the Islamabad territory in Ramazan had not been lifted by them till now. There was no sugar shortage in the country rather there will be surplus sugar in the coming days because the sugar mills had started their production and imports were also in progress. CONCLUSION: The major reasons for the sugar crisis brewing in 2009 and 2010 had been inability in framing effective measures by the provincial governments to control hoarding, failure to import sugar to meet shortfall of sugar production in the country, and an overall lack of government policy. The operation of cartels as explained had played an inevitable role in worsening the sugar crisis in the country. RECOMMENDATIONS: Tight regulatory policies should be chalked out to prevent sugar hoarding and appropriate surveillance measures should be implemented on a timely basis to check for illegal activities like hoarding carried in the sugar industry. Effective measures should be adopted to import sugar without any delay to overcome the sugar deficit in the country, and to avoid sugar price hike. A ban should be placed on the formation of cartels to avoid sugar deficit and sugar price hike. Sugar industries should be granted subsidies frequently to encourage them to forecast the sugar demand accurately and to prevent hoarding. REFRENCES: https://pkonweb.com/2010/11/sugar-cartel-politicians-behind-sugar-crisis-views-on-news-10-nov-2010/ https://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/26-Sep-2009/Sugar-cartel-may-blackmail-growers https://ibrahimsajidmalick.com/tag/sugar-crisis/ https://haroonhaider.com/category/sugar-shortage-in-pakistan/ https:// www.scribd.com/doc/20276168/Sugar-Crisis-in-Pakistan-research-paper https://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Business/06-Jan-2010/Sugar-crisis-may-deepen-further-in-coming-months https://www.chowrangi.com/sugar-crisis-in-pakistan-is-there-any-other-name-for-a-thief.html