Eucalyptus Plantation

[mrt273nva]

I am thinking of starting a eucalyptus plantation in Isaan and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with doing so. The financial numbers sound pretty good as long as you can wait 5-10 years before you see a return on your investment.

I also came across this article on the net "Diseases of Eucalyptus in Thailand and Options for Reducing their Impact" (http://www.dnp.go.th/foremic/fmo/fmoproject/IUFROnair.pdf) that has spooked me a little bit and was wondering if someone is experiencing any problems with fungus. It will be another 6 months before we begin planting so we have some time to fully research this operation.

[soundman]

Some posts I have written on the subject.

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.

and

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.

Any specific questions feel free to PM me.

Cheers.

[mrt273nva]

that is a wealth of information. thank you for this. i may be in contact with you in the future.