The supply and demand issues in mining sub-sectors of PeMaS and BuMaS mostly relate to equipments, materials, machine components and raw stone.
Materials like fuel, dynamite and components are mostly available in Ghalanai bazaar of Mohmand Agency and other adjoining areas in the case of PeMaS.
For BuMaS, the same inputs are brought from the district headquarters in Buner named Daggar and also available in Chagharzai. An important issue raised by a few mine owners in BuMaS related to difficulties in purchasing dynamite. Narrating the implications for business a mine owner pointed out;
„To purchase dynamite we are issued licenses or permits by the district administration or the district coordination officer‟s (DCO) office. The seller of dynamite also has a specific license in this regard that has to be renewed periodically. Due to bad law and order situation, there have been restrictions on us…dynamite has not been available easily, the army keeps an eye on us through checkpoints and its price has also gone up‟
For supply issues pertaining to the raw excavated stone, results suggest that mining units do not follow any pre-determined targets regarding how much stone to excavate. The two main product demand factors during the mining phase were found to be stone size (larger blocks and half blocks are in greater demand and fetch higher price) and stone variety. However, the preference of a particular processing unit for specific varieties was influenced by customer orders and sale performance. Thus some processing units demand low priced varieties like ‘Black’ that has grey streaks.
Outcomes for the two processing subsectors suggest that continuous supply of electricity for cutting machineries and polishers is a major concern. While for BuMaS almost all respondents agreed that frequent power shutdowns seriously hampered their production schedules and the ability to fulfil customer orders adequately, conflicting views were expressed in PeMaS.
Owners/managers of processing units located in Peshawar’s Warsak Road area complained about a price disadvantage compared to units located a few miles down the road in Mohmand’s tribal region. Describing the scenario, one owner of a processing unit in the area stated;
„I have to pay bills based on commercial rates of electricity…the more I consume the more I pay. But these guys (units in adjoining Mohmand) pay a fixed bill. Many units have installed more machinery to produce more and faster with fixed costs. How can I compete with them on price?‟
Disagreeing with this perspective, manager of a processing unit located in Peshawar’s Industrial Estate suggested;
„I‟d say we are lucky because power supply disruptions are much less in Peshawar…yes, the guys in Mohmand pay a fixed bill but power shutdowns over there are five times more. You might think they have a cost advantage but that is lost when I produce more and thus sell more in the market‟
The major production of processing units’ machinery such as gang saw, vertical and horizontal cutting machines, polishers, lathe machines and grinders does not take place within PeMaS and BuMaS. The manufacturers specializing in this area are located in the Punjab province especially cities like Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Gujrat which are hubs of small industrial manufacturing in Pakistan. However, there is a separate group of ‘experts’ in both PeMaS and BuMaS that specializes in the installation and maintenance of these machineries at the processing unit premises. Most units in both sectors have machinery made locally in Pakistan. There were few examples of imported technologies from Italy. The most frequently used input in the processing sub-sectors was found to be the blade ‘tips’ installed on cutters.
The market for this product does not have any standardized mechanisms with suppliers varying in terms of the product quality they provide and prices they charge. No evidence of locally manufactured tips was found and all are imported from countries like China, Ukraine and Central Asian Republics.
Semi-finished blocks are mostly in demand by factories in the southern city of Karachi where there is a large number of small firms specializing in producing decorative items. The most commonly sold product within PeMaS and BuMaS is the tile followed by slab. These two products are also sold in large quantities to business customers in Punjab province. A large number of
sectors. Their mode of operation relies on searching for potential customers not just within the local area but also across Pakistan. Processing units being small firms do not have a formal distribution channel of their own and rely on these distributors (including wholesalers) for sale of products.
The above discussion about nature of marketing within the two marble sectors underscores the inseparability of firm from its context. In order to illustrate this aspect further Figure 9.3 provides a context chart (Miles & Huberman, 1994, pp. 102-105).
Mining sub-sectors in PeMaS and BuMaS Processing sub-sectors in PeMaS and BuMaS
Figure 9.3: Context Chart: Nature of Market and Marketing Practices in PeMaS and BuMaS
Mining Firm Processing Firm
DOMESTIC/LOCAL
Personal Contacts based on Trust &
Past Relationship
No promotional material, no branding Stone varieties recognized by locally
given names
Bus. Cust./Consumer Preferences (local & national)