Cassava

[Tea123]

Last week I was having a few beers with some Thai friends,

an they were discussing the recent purchase of 36 rai of farming land,a few locals chipped in to buy. For growing cassava.

They were all coming out with different predictions on how much profit you could get a year, and they were miles apart.

i was just wondering if anyone  on here could give me a ball park figure to quash my curiosity.

thanks 

[Rally123]

Can't wait for someone to answer this question so I'll try and get the ball rolling.

It all depends on the buying price on the day at the merchants. I'm not a grower of cassava, or wish to be, but from my observations if you have to buy the land you won't see a return on your investment for many a year. If at all, as I see no profit being made by those who farms I overlook.

[Tea123]

They paid 3.5 million for the land, and the guys i was talking to, come up with profits for the year ranging from 100k-400k.

They are not farmers and had a few beers. So I’m guessing that’s why the huge variation.

At 100k I just can’t see why they would bother, especially sharing between 4 people.

 

 

[kickstart]

I would have thought the obvious answer would be ask in TV's cassava thread thay will know your answer.

Around here the cassava is about 2 -2.20 baht/kg , with the rains good last year, yields seem good , but 2 years ago we had a drought, and the light land where most cassava is grown, not, many growers made anything, even irrigated crops did not make a lot.

First thing I would do is to look at the land ,and ask will it even grow cassava.                                                                                                                                                                                          

[djayz]

For what it's worth: 2.45 was being paid here in Korat on Friday gone.

[Tea123]

On 12/02/2018 at 7:39 PM, kickstart said:

I would have thought the obvious answer would be ask in TV's cassava thread thay will know your answer.

Around here the cassava is about 2 -2.20 baht/kg , with the rains good last year, yields seem good , but 2 years ago we had a drought, and the light land where most cassava is grown, not, many growers made anything, even irrigated crops did not make a lot.

First thing I would do is to look at the land ,and ask will it even grow cassava.                                                                                                                                                                                          

I did not know there was a cassava thread, otherwise I would have posted it there.

It was just a quick post to see if anyone could give me a rough idea.

This land has nothing to do with me, was just interested if they could make any money out of it.

[billd766]

My wife tried it on 12 rai a few years ago and by the second year gave up on it.

 

Most cassava varieties give around 5 tons per rai so 36 rai x 5 tonnes x 2,250 baht = 405,000 baht if the prices stays at that level. That is the good news.

 

The bad news that unless you have your own tractor and your own familly to work the land labour costs will be high.

 

You will need to clear the land the first year, plough it and ridge it, weedkill it and then plant it. The first year you will need to buy the cassava stalks and after that you can use the curretnt years crop. You will need to cut the stalks to about 30cm long, plant them about 50cm apart, then fertilise them. Later you will need to weedkill once again. This is mostly done by hand.

 

At harvest time you have to top the stalks and cut them down by hand again to store for the next crop. Next get the tractor in to plough the cassava up and get your workers to stack them by hand in baskets to load in the truck/trailer or whatever you use.

 

Next take then to the middleman who will weigh your unit on the way in, dump the cassava and weigh the unit on the way out. The driver will get a ticket stating how much he delivered. Keep doing this until the crop is finally cleared. Then you go back to the middleman with the tickets and he will pay you LESS the % due to

Too much dirt on the crop

Too wet with too much moisture

Etc, etc.

 

If you own the tractor already, that is great, if not you have to buy one for 3xx,xxx baht plus for a small one. Then you will need a driver who you will have to pay all year round. you will also need a trailer to transport the cassava. For 36 rai you would probably need between 10 to 15 workers but you only need to pay them when they work but it will still be around 300 baht per worker per day. That might be 15 to 20 days per year at 3,000 to 4,500 baht per day.

 

You will need fuel for the tractor, fertiliser and weed killer and all of the above comes out of the sales of cassava. An early crop usually gets a slightly higher price and a later one gets a lower price, usually posted daily on a board outside the middlemans yard.

 

If you have to buy the land as well it is an investment but not a good one.

 

There are a couple of farangs I know locally and to make any sort of a return you will need perhaps 100 or better still 200 rai.

 

My wife now rents the land to the local farmer at 8 or 900 baht per rai per year. It isn't very much but she still owns the land and it is all profit for no work. To farm is little profit for hard work.

[Tea123]

43 minutes ago, billd766 said:

My wife tried it on 12 rai a few years ago and by the second year gave up on it.

 

Most cassava varieties give around 5 tons per rai so 36 rai x 5 tonnes x 2,250 baht = 405,000 baht if the prices stays at that level. That is the good news.

 

The bad news that unless you have your own tractor and your own familly to work the land labour costs will be high.

 

You will need to clear the land the first year, plough it and ridge it, weedkill it and then plant it. The first year you will need to buy the cassava stalks and after that you can use the curretnt years crop. You will need to cut the stalks to about 30cm long, plant them about 50cm apart, then fertilise them. Later you will need to weedkill once again. This is mostly done by hand.

 

At harvest time you have to top the stalks and cut them down by hand again to store for the next crop. Next get the tractor in to plough the cassava up and get your workers to stack them by hand in baskets to load in the truck/trailer or whatever you use.

 

Next take then to the middleman who will weigh your unit on the way in, dump the cassava and weigh the unit on the way out. The driver will get a ticket stating how much he delivered. Keep doing this until the crop is finally cleared. Then you go back to the middleman with the tickets and he will pay you LESS the % due to

Too much dirt on the crop

Too wet with too much moisture

Etc, etc.

 

If you own the tractor already, that is great, if not you have to buy one for 3xx,xxx baht plus for a small one. Then you will need a driver who you will have to pay all year round. you will also need a trailer to transport the cassava. For 36 rai you would probably need between 10 to 15 workers but you only need to pay them when they work but it will still be around 300 baht per worker per day. That might be 15 to 20 days per year at 3,000 to 4,500 baht per day.

 

You will need fuel for the tractor, fertiliser and weed killer and all of the above comes out of the sales of cassava. An early crop usually gets a slightly higher price and a later one gets a lower price, usually posted daily on a board outside the middlemans yard.

 

If you have to buy the land as well it is an investment but not a good one.

 

There are a couple of farangs I know locally and to make any sort of a return you will need perhaps 100 or better still 200 rai.

 

My wife now rents the land to the local farmer at 8 or 900 baht per rai per year. It isn't very much but she still owns the land and it is all profit for no work. To farm is little profit for hard work.

Thanks for the detailed reply. 

So I take it if they have no equipment, they are looking at 50% cost.

So a little profit, I gues it beats keeping the money in the bank. 

Thats if they have not borrowed it, but maybe they are banking on land values increasing and a little beer money.

[billd766]

13 hours ago, Tea123 said:

Thanks for the detailed reply. 

So I take it if they have no equipment, they are looking at 50% cost.

So a little profit, I gues it beats keeping the money in the bank. 

Thats if they have not borrowed it, but maybe they are banking on land values increasing and a little beer money.

 

IF they have the money TBH I would suggest that they walk away with it and invest elsewhere perhaps out of the country for a better interest rate.

 

What I described works, only if cassava prices stay at that level or rise, if they fall then they will lose.

 

I have just reread your original post and it appears that they do own the land so if they have a tractor then their costs will be less. IMHO if they are going on with it it may be a little cheaper to hire a team with a tractor to do the hard work for them.

 

20 years ago the only tractors available were the big Ford 6600 and tractor owners were doing well hiring out tractor and driver and you had to book a slot.

 

Along came Kubota, followed a little later by Yanmar and the price of tractors fell, HP was not too much and many farmers borrowed and bought their own and many Ford owners went out of business.

 

There are rice harvesters on the market now and some people are buying them and contracting them out and doing reasonably well. They cut the cost of labour and many older seasonal workers are now out of work.

 

It seems that there are cassava harvesting machines available in Thailand though I have not seen them out here.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUPl49h5voE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH_R9Ieq6kU

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjzKQWEYdM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYGIwQrflWQ

 

The last 2 still need a team of pickers as well.