Eucalytus Plants (beginning Help Me Pls)

[bsaa8]

hi, in new in the forum.

I come from italy and i marry with thai girl. Her brother have 40 rai for plant Eucalyptus. I would like to know, how much expensive are the small plant and how much for put down in the land.

I would like also know, how much is profit per rai. I know that u have wait 3 years before cut. So that i mean is profit after 3 years.

Thanks to all in advance

Edited September 3, 2008 by bsaa8

[soundman]

You want to buy seedlings (usually cloned hybrids suited to a specific area) that the pulp mills want otherwise you will only get about 60% of the possible value of the wood from the trader near you for non-specific eucalypt. Not advisable to buy seedlings where the seller cannot tell you what strain they are, and what areas (old rice paddy, recently cut jungle, sandy soiled hill etc) to plant it in. Usually around 4 baht for a 9" avg. 8 leaf seedling (clone is a better term).

If you are not near a pulp mill or wood trader, you're transportation costs after cutting will be high and profits low. An eighteen wheel truck will set you back about 3000B for a 50 - 75km round trip! We charge ours out at 13,000B per day including one tank of fuel. You can get approximately 30 tonnes on one 18 wheel truck.

If you do not own the land or cannot get a reasonable rental price for the land, the profits dry up dramatically. You also have to watch out that the person renting the land to you is the actual owner of the land & that he or his "friends" doesn't come and steal your trees when you are not watching or kick you off the land before the trees reach maturity and let you fight it in court while the trees once again "magically dissappear"! Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest risks you face in eucalypt farming.

Input costs are roughly 7,500B - 12,000B per rai over four years including rent, you plant around 300 - 400 trees per rai (3m x 1.5m grid gives around 355 per Rai.), yields range from about 18 tons to 28 tons over 4 years depending upon a lot of factors including the skill of the farmer, variety of tree, condition of soil, water source and especially the preparation of the plot. Remember, backhoes are expensive!

Eucalypt will generate between 800B - 1400B per ton depending on which variety you have and who you are selling to. Do not listen to the local experts that tell you to plant 500+ per Rai. You will only end up growing sticks.

If you or anybody else wants to grow Euca with a hands off approach, contact me by PM.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[bsaa8]

You want to buy seedlings (usually cloned hybrids suited to a specific area) that the pulp mills want otherwise you will only get about 60% of the possible value of the wood from the trader near you for non-specific eucalypt. Not advisable to buy seedlings where the seller cannot tell you what strain they are, and what areas (old rice paddy, recently cut jungle, sandy soiled hill etc) to plant it in. Usually around 4 baht for a 9" avg. 8 leaf seedling (clone is a better term).

If you are not near a pulp mill or wood trader, you're transportation costs after cutting will be high and profits low. An eighteen wheel truck will set you back about 3000B for a 50 - 75km round trip! We charge ours out at 13,000B per day including one tank of fuel. You can get approximately 30 tonnes on one 18 wheel truck.

If you do not own the land or cannot get a reasonable rental price for the land, the profits dry up dramatically. You also have to watch out that the person renting the land to you is the actual owner of the land & that he or his "friends" doesn't come and steal your trees when you are not watching or kick you off the land before the trees reach maturity and let you fight it in court while the trees once again "magically dissappear"! Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest risks you face in eucalypt farming.

Input costs are roughly 7,500B - 12,000B per rai over four years including rent, you plant around 300 - 400 trees per rai (3m x 1.5m grid gives around 355 per Rai.), yields range from about 18 tons to 28 tons over 4 years depending upon a lot of factors including the skill of the farmer, variety of tree, condition of soil, water source and especially the preparation of the plot. Remember, backhoes are expensive!

Eucalypt will generate between 800B - 1400B per ton depending on which variety you have and who you are selling to. Do not listen to the local experts that tell you to plant 500+ per Rai. You will only end up growing sticks.

If you or anybody else wants to grow Euca with a hands off approach, contact me by PM.

Cheers,

Soundman.

Maybe i dont explain good, for land i spend nothing, because i have for free, i mean no rent. That im interesting to know is how much expensive are the small plant, not seed. I dont believe so much in the seed.

After 3 year how much ton can be 1 plant?

About trasportation cost, i dont have, because is factory that come to cut a take them for "free".

How much money, the company give me in this case for 1 ton?

Thanks a lot

[soundman]

Maybe i dont explain good, for land i spend nothing, because i have for free, i mean no rent. That im interesting to know is how much expensive are the small plant, not seed. I dont believe so much in the seed.

After 3 year how much ton can be 1 plant?

About trasportation cost, i dont have, because is factory that come to cut a take them for "free".

How much money, the company give me in this case for 1 ton?

Thanks a lot

I don't believe I talked about seeds anywhere!

Small plant 9" tall (6-10leaf) - 4B

Earth preparation (assume spray and plough at a minimum) - 800 to 1200B per rai or call it 4B per tree

Cost to plant it - 2B per tree

1st 2nd & 3rd waterings if you plant in dry season - 5B tree

Fertilizer 1st year - 1B per tree

Fertilzer 2nd and 3rd year - 3B or more per tree

Approximate cost of tree - 25B per tree.

After three years your tree will weigh about 40 - 50kg's after cutting. (2 1/2" plus diameter is what the wood company will be looking for.

How much money, the company give me in this case for 1 ton?

If the wood company comes to cut and deliver you can be sure this cost and a substancial commission will come from the market price of the wood. Lets call the purchase price 700B - 800B per tonne.

50kg's = 1/20th of 700B - 35B per tree less your input cost of 25B per tree leaves 10B per tree profit.

This plan of yours is not very good.

My trees make me around 50B - 75B profit per tree over 4 years. Better to sign a contract with a pulp mill rather than a wood middleman & grow your trees for 4 - 5 years.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[basilic13]

Very interesting numbers...

And how many times can you grow the euca trees? I heard some say 3 times, but I have read up to 5 or even 6 times, for example if spacing is increased between the trees. Is that correct?

And what about the cost of putting the land back to good shape after the growing cycles? I have read it could cost up to 20'000 bht per rai!!!

thanks...

[ozzydom]

Very interesting numbers...

And how many times can you grow the euca trees? I heard some say 3 times, but I have read up to 5 or even 6 times, for example if spacing is increased between the trees. Is that correct?

And what about the cost of putting the land back to good shape after the growing cycles? I have read it could cost up to 20'000 bht per rai!!!

thanks...

I take it that you are referring to allowing the butt to throw suckers after the first cut, some people do this and thin the suckers back to 4 growths per butt, others rip out the stumps and replant seedlings each time.

Sucker growth is quicker because you already have an established root system ,but your saplings will not attain the same size as a new seedling although your actual tonnage may be up.

By "putting the land back into its original condition" only requires stump removal ,ploughing and renewing nutrients to what they were prior to the eucalyptus crop, if you have been applying fertilizer to the growing eucalyptus then your soil analysis should not differ to much from original, stumps can be sold for charcoal to offset costs so 20k is imo way over the top.

[LeungKen]

The above sounds like good advicefrom people who grew up among the gum trees.

My query for a Newbie, would be what's the risk of bushfires like and how many brush-tail possums can you free range per acre?

[soundman]

The above sounds like good advicefrom people who grew up among the gum trees.

My query for a Newbie, would be what's the risk of bushfires like and how many brush-tail possums can you free range per acre?

Brush tail possums? Now there's a side crop I bet no-one has heard of....

Eucalypt are fairly fire resistant. Hot fire and young trees - they will die. Grass or ground level fire ie not in the crowns of the trees - no problems at all.

20k per rai to fix the area - someones scare mongering. As ozzy pointed out, if you have been applying nutrients, the soil will support subsequent crops no problems. Roots can be removed or the tree stump can be poisoned with a little concentrate glypo after cutting and left to rot.

Using a backhoe to rip the stumps out and turn the soil over is another option. At around 10,000B - 13,000B per day they are not cheap, however a 320 CAT with a competant operator should be able to process 3 - 5 Rai in a day.

Cheers.

[basilic13]

Thanks soundman.... you are being very helpful....

there is quite some talk around here about this tagoo / krathum tree... as a better and more interesting alternative to eucalyptus plantation... (can do construction, furniture, paper pulp, with easy care and reaching higher value ....)

do you know anything about it?