Export of iron from SE Asia

Mark · 3rd March 2005, 11:11 PM

I have found some hard information on this question in Bronson, "Patterns in the Early Southeast Asian Metals Trade," in Early Metallurgy, Trade and Urban Centres in Thailand and Southeast Asia, White Lotus, Bangkok, 1992.

Bronson has a lot to say on this subject, but to summarize, SEA generally was a very minor player in the iron business, or was virtually out of the game entirely. Island SEA was (and is) very poor in iron deposits, and never exploited in any significant way the deposits it had. Thus, all of its iron was imported from India and China (and maybe a little bit in certain periods from Thailand).

As far as continental SEA goes, Burma had the largest deposits and at times was a net exporter to nearby countries, as were Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Burma's iron production, when it was active, was mostly supplying just its own needs. However, none of these countries never fully or consistently exploited their iron resources.

The reason that iron production was so limited in SEA was that China was a massive producer and exporter of inexpensive iron, and so there was no economic advantage to local production. Plus, China's spelting technology was more efficient and advanced than that of SEA. To the extent there was iron production in continental SEA is was essentially a very intermittant, small-scale afair for local consumption. With the establishment of European trade, Europe also became an important source for iron and steel.

Copper and tin were the big metal industries in SEA, and silver to a lesser extent.

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3rd March 2005, 11:11 PM	#11
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	I have found some hard information on this question in Bronson, "Patterns in the Early Southeast Asian Metals Trade," in Early Metallurgy, Trade and Urban Centres in Thailand and Southeast Asia, White Lotus, Bangkok, 1992. Bronson has a lot to say on this subject, but to summarize, SEA generally was a very minor player in the iron business, or was virtually out of the game entirely. Island SEA was (and is) very poor in iron deposits, and never exploited in any significant way the deposits it had. Thus, all of its iron was imported from India and China (and maybe a little bit in certain periods from Thailand). As far as continental SEA goes, Burma had the largest deposits and at times was a net exporter to nearby countries, as were Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Burma's iron production, when it was active, was mostly supplying just its own needs. However, none of these countries never fully or consistently exploited their iron resources. The reason that iron production was so limited in SEA was that China was a massive producer and exporter of inexpensive iron, and so there was no economic advantage to local production. Plus, China's spelting technology was more efficient and advanced than that of SEA. To the extent there was iron production in continental SEA is was essentially a very intermittant, small-scale afair for local consumption. With the establishment of European trade, Europe also became an important source for iron and steel. Copper and tin were the big metal industries in SEA, and silver to a lesser extent.