The Official Rubber Tree Thread

[Jonathan Fairfield]

The Official Rubber Tree Thread

 

All discussion related to rubber tree farming and growing here!

 

This thread continues on from the previous long running rubber trees topic here: https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/467163-rubber-trees/
 

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, 19.34 Baht per kg.

Huge, stinking production from everybody as 3 instead of 2 weeks between sales.

Still on a 55/45 split as the price is below 20.00 baht per kg.

[Mosha]

Well the locals with the correct land title have been paid to stop tapping, and it's pissed it down since. 555. Why am I laughing? We aren't in that group :(

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction today, 20.12 Baht per kg.

10 bidders, lowest bid 19.30, , 6 bidders in the 19's, 4 bidders in the 20's.

Going back to a 60/40 split.

[Mosha]

More rain in the forecast. Parts of the South could be hit with the biggest storm in 50 years.
My worst NYE/ NYD for years. Admitted to hospital on Monday AM, hopefully home on Saturday. Thumb
somehow got infected, extremely painful. Looked like something out of a 1960s Sci Fi film.

Sent from my SMART 4G GEN C 5.0 using Tapatalk

[grollies]

Get well soon @Mosha.

 

Anyone seen/used these. Had dinner with head of Chachengsao Rubber institute (name-droppper, I know).

 

He was telling us about them. B4000 from China, battery life for 1,000 trees.

 

 

[djayz]

On 12/17/2018 at 11:20 AM, Mosha said:

Well the locals with the correct land title have been paid to stop tapping, and it's pissed it down since. 555. Why am I laughing? We aren't in that group ????

If I understood my better half correctly, they get Baht 1,800/rai for a maximum of 10 rai (or Baht 18,000) paid out. In addition to this, they receive an additional Baht 10,000 per rai to cut and sell the trees (this money is IN ADDITION to the value of the timber). 

Up where we live, the family-in-law can't find people to do the tapping.

[grollies]

20 hours ago, djayz said:

If I understood my better half correctly, they get Baht 1,800/rai for a maximum of 10 rai (or Baht 18,000) paid out. In addition to this, they receive an additional Baht 10,000 per rai to cut and sell the trees (this money is IN ADDITION to the value of the timber). 

Up where we live, the family-in-law can't find people to do the tapping.

Yeah but B10k/rai to cut down your trees is nothing compared to the 7-9 years invested in bringing them to maturity. The wood is worth sweet fa. Bout B700/tonne. I'm looking at the tapping machine above and DIY, our tappers have jacked.

[djayz]

6 hours ago, grollies said:

Yeah but B10k/rai to cut down your trees is nothing compared to the 7-9 years invested in bringing them to maturity. The wood is worth sweet fa. Bout B700/tonne. I'm looking at the tapping machine above and DIY, our tappers have jacked.

Good point, but the missus and family between them have just under 50 rai of rubber plants, which are only tapped every once in a blue moon. = zero income from rubber for most of the year. 

Why not cash in, sell off the lumber, dig up the roots (easier said that done) and start anew? 

[grollies]

5 hours ago, djayz said:

Good point, but the missus and family between them have just under 50 rai of rubber plants, which are only tapped every once in a blue moon. = zero income from rubber for most of the year. 

Why not cash in, sell off the lumber, dig up the roots (easier said that done) and start anew? 

If no one is tapping and there is no intention to then I suppose so. Wait for the family arguments about how any money is split. How old are the trees?

Edited January 4, 2019 by grollies

[thoongfoned]

8 hours ago, djayz said:

Good point, but the missus and family between them have just under 50 rai of rubber plants, which are only tapped every once in a blue moon. = zero income from rubber for most of the year. 

Why not cash in, sell off the lumber, dig up the roots (easier said that done) and start anew? 

around the village there are a few plantations all over 12/13 years old, no one is cutting this year or last year... some have never been opened. back when we had some trees we always had problems getting people to work, too much work, not enough, no time ect.... when the price was around 30 baht a kg we said to the tappers you can have all the money, just keep the land in an ok state, even that offer was not enough to get them working....

the trees all got burnt/damaged. sold the wood for a few thousand baht, had the stumps dug out, rented the land for cane, the land is/was useless as far as i can see, the trees must have drained what little goodness was in the land. its been left now for 1/2 years, got a new fella farming in for cane now, hope he can make a better job/return of it than the last guy.

around here digging the large roots out and then pushing them into a heep at the side is 3,500 baht per rai if my memory still works, more if you want the grap tractor and lorries to cart the roots away. that 3500 a rai is a 20 ton macro and large tractor working rate.

if i were in your/family position i would keep the trees in the land and try and work them "myself" shame after all that money and time just to spend more digging em out and then spend again for on a new project that will make ?

[thaiguzzi]

On 1/2/2019 at 10:22 PM, djayz said:

If I understood my better half correctly, they get Baht 1,800/rai for a maximum of 10 rai (or Baht 18,000) paid out. In addition to this, they receive an additional Baht 10,000 per rai to cut and sell the trees (this money is IN ADDITION to the value of the timber). 

Up where we live, the family-in-law can't find people to do the tapping.

 

On 1/2/2019 at 10:22 PM, djayz said:

10 rai

Actually 15 rai, but the rest you have quoted is factual.

We are getting that money for 15 rai, it's meant to be a split of 1000 for the tappers and 800 for the owners or summat similar.

Or is it 1600 total per rai with a 1000/600 split?

Either way, neither here nor there if you have 2 plots of land totaling 64 rai and 2 pairs of tappers.

So we will get zilch personally, and just hand out 15 x 1600 divide by 4.

'coz we 're nice.

 ******************

Re the above posts, jeez, you guys have it tough with workers.

Up our way, there are lists with the village headman for rubber tappers in a queue who want work.

We have NEVER GONE ONE WEEK in 8 seasons tapping without staff.

REGARDLESS of the current price.

ie, @ 20 baht per kg for cup, if one pair of my staff left tomorrow, by 48 hours later, we'd have new ones.

Fortunately we have had the same staff on one plot for 5 years and another pair on another plot (with free accommodation) for 3 years.

Very trustworthy.

Very reliable.

Very helpful.

Very hard working.

*************

8 hours ago, djayz said:

which are only tapped every once in a blue moon

Production will be awful if tapped like this. If the trees are not tapped in synch and to a regular schedule, output falls off a cliff.

You only have to see output from a tree if it has'nt been cut for 4-5 days in the rainy season.

Let alone weeks.

Wasting their time.

8 hours ago, djayz said:

Good point, but the missus and family between them have just under 50 rai of rubber plants, which are only tapped every once in a blue moon. = zero income from rubber for most of the year. 

Just don't understand this mindset.

50 rai of rubber still brings in a decent income for a Thai countryside family, especially at this time of year.

My missus is CLEARING, ie net profit, 60 k per calendar month Nov-Dec-Jan @ 19-20 baht per kg for cup.

I just don't understand the mindset of not tapping 50 rai of mature trees.

**********************

HNY.

[thaiguzzi]

On 1/2/2019 at 4:01 PM, grollies said:

Get well soon @Mosha.

 

Anyone seen/used these. Had dinner with head of Chachengsao Rubber institute (name-droppper, I know).

 

He was telling us about them. B4000 from China, battery life for 1,000 trees.

 

 

Wow!

Looks like any unskilled retard (like me) could tap trees.

Fast too.

[grollies]

8 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Wow!

Looks like any unskilled retard (like me) could tap trees.

Fast too.

I'm getting one for next season. We also struggle getting tappers here.

[djayz]

16 hours ago, grollies said:

How old are the trees?

Between 8/9 and 14 years old. 

[thaiguzzi]

On 1/4/2019 at 11:37 PM, djayz said:

Between 8/9 and 14 years old. 

14 y/o = what a waste!

[djayz]

3 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

14 y/o = what a waste!

True, but apparently he made pretty decent money for most of that time / up until a few years ago. I doubt he knows how much profit/loss he has made. 

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, at 20.52 baht per kg.

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, at 22.38 baht per kg.

[grollies]

On 1/23/2019 at 11:59 AM, thaiguzzi said:

Sold cup at auction yesterday, at 22.38 baht per kg.

Nice to see the price going up again. Trees starting to green-up again. Lovely time of year.

[grollies]

@thaiguzzi what do you know about fungal disease? We've 4 trees, dead, bark splitting all the way up, been told it's a fungus.

 

Question is will they all get it?

 

Trees are 12 years old.

[thaiguzzi]

My man (Thai ag university grad) says no.

He also says a 10% rate of trees stopping producing is normal, ie 76 trees per rai, 7 stop producing = normal.

We have several trees ;like you are describing, almost like drying out, some stop producing, some produce like a champ.

I would'nt worry, having said that , are they all together or spread out a bit?

A pic is worth a thousand words...

 

Edit - "dead" just re-read that.
Totally dead?

We have less than 4 on both plantations, maybe 4 max out of 4,500 trees.

Worth investigating further, pics would be good.

[grollies]

9 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

My man (Thai ag university grad) says no.

He also says a 10% rate of trees stopping producing is normal, ie 76 trees per rai, 7 stop producing = normal.

We have several trees ;like you are describing, almost like drying out, some stop producing, some produce like a champ.

I would'nt worry, having said that , are they all together or spread out a bit?

A pic is worth a thousand words...

 

Edit - "dead" just re-read that.
Totally dead?

We have less than 4 on both plantations, maybe 4 max out of 4,500 trees.

Worth investigating further, pics would be good.

Thanks, I'll post up some pics later. Yep, four next to each other, totally dead as in two broke up completely, just a six foot stump left.

[thaiguzzi]

On 1/31/2019 at 7:37 AM, grollies said:

Thanks, I'll post up some pics later. Yep, four next to each other, totally dead as in two broke up completely, just a six foot stump left.

Suggestion -

buy some lime powder (builders merchants sell it as well as ag suppliers), dig out the dead stumps, pour said powder in or around the holes.

Then create a "moat" - a slight 1-2" deep channel around all 4 trees, and again generously pour the powder in.

[grollies]

7 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Suggestion -

buy some lime powder (builders merchants sell it as well as ag suppliers), dig out the dead stumps, pour said powder in or around the holes.

Then create a "moat" - a slight 1-2" deep channel around all 4 trees, and again generously pour the powder in.

Will do and pics tomorrow.

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, 21.51 Baht per kg.

Not much longer now, maybe another fortnight....

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, 22.64 Baht per kg.

13 bidders, lowest bid was 21.20.

Going again on both plantations for another fortnight, output is still there, had unseasonal good heavy rain twice in the last 2 weeks, cutting 1 on / 1 off.

[thaiguzzi]

Sold cup at auction yesterday, 25.25 Baht per kg.

Price is up because it's the low season.

14 bidders, lowest bid was 23.00.

Sheet was 47.70.

We are still at it, more unseasonal rain, output still there, sorta.

Tapping 1 on, 2 off.

Still getting over a tonne of production which equates to 16k net per fortnight or just over 30k pm in the missus's pocket. Why stop?

[charliedundee]

Due to various reasons my FiL, who lives near the border of Udon and Kalasin(Wang Sam Mo,) has decided to remove his 50 rai of 20+ year old trees. Does anyone know a company that buys(cuts and removes) them?

He's been asking around at the local market when selling but only had one company take a look.

Thanks

[grollies]

3 hours ago, charliedundee said:

Due to various reasons my FiL, who lives near the border of Udon and Kalasin(Wang Sam Mo,) has decided to remove his 50 rai of 20+ year old trees. Does anyone know a company that buys(cuts and removes) them?

He's been asking around at the local market when selling but only had one company take a look.

Thanks

You know the govt is paying farmers to cut down rubber right? Apart from that can't help, sorry.