Rubber Trees

[meme]

While I know that it all depends on the age of the rubber trees. location etc. I was just wondering if someone had any rough idea of the return on buying rubber trees. About 100,000 baht worth.

[ray23]

While I know that it all depends on the age of the rubber trees. location etc. I was just wondering if someone had any rough idea of the return on buying rubber trees. About 100,000 baht worth.

Just go to the Issan forum and do a search there is a ton of info on rubber trees

[meme]

While I know that it all depends on the age of the rubber trees. location etc. I was just wondering if someone had any rough idea of the return on buying rubber trees. About 100,000 baht worth.

Just go to the Issan forum and do a search there is a ton of info on rubber trees

I was looking to buy in the South. would it be the same in Issan? I will check it out anyway. Thanks.

[meme]

While I know that it all depends on the age of the rubber trees. location etc. I was just wondering if someone had any rough idea of the return on buying rubber trees. About 100,000 baht worth.

Just go to the Issan forum and do a search there is a ton of info on rubber trees

I was looking to buy in the South. would it be the same in Issan? I will check it out anyway. Thanks.

OK found lots of info both in the Issan forum and the Southern forum.

[poorfarang]

How many trees does 100,000 baht buy? And how much land do those trees take up?

[GuestHouse]

All of a sudden (Three years back) dozens of Thais I know started talking about Rubber Trees. I know a few that have gone ahead and planted while others are saving money to do so.

I know one English Guy who has sunk his life's savings into buying land and planting rubber trees in Isaan.

It all has the sound of 'Gold Fever' to me.

[donx]

meme,

I am assuming when you refer to spending 100,000 baht that you are referring to buying seedlings and planting them on land already available to you. If not, then don't expect much of a return as the land itself will cost much more than 100,000 baht to produce any meaningful amount of rubber.

[ray23]

At one point the government was giving the trees away, to create rubber plantations. Since then the push is for Palm Oil, heaven knows what it will be next week. The one million cows seems to have went Bye Bye already before it ever got started.

Rubber as long as the price of oil stays where it's at and it probably will if not more, there is a market. Issan people are making money with it, because they take care of it themselves. It's not easy, many many hbours involved mainly at nihgt and non productive time through the rainy season I think. Issan is not the best place to grow the trees. Although they do produce but not as much as other areas.

It takes at least five years to start recovering your investment, if not longer, mind you start.

So it's no gold mine by any means but if your comitted and do the work yourself, you can do OK, if not paying for labor as it is labor intensive chances are that will eat any profit, unless you doing it large scale way beyond 100 trees.

But that was just my humble opinnion after doing the research.

[steveromagnino]

At one point the government was giving the trees away, to create rubber plantations. Since then the push is for Palm Oil, heaven knows what it will be next week. The one million cows seems to have went Bye Bye already before it ever got started.

Rubber as long as the price of oil stays where it's at and it probably will if not more, there is a market. Issan people are making money with it, because they take care of it themselves. It's not easy, many many hbours involved mainly at nihgt and non productive time through the rainy season I think. Issan is not the best place to grow the trees. Although they do produce but not as much as other areas.

It takes at least five years to start recovering your investment, if not longer, mind you start.

So it's no gold mine by any means but if your comitted and do the work yourself, you can do OK, if not paying for labor as it is labor intensive chances are that will eat any profit, unless you doing it large scale way beyond 100 trees.

But that was just my humble opinnion after doing the research.

yes, the key is in scale, but also there is a problem of labour - tapping requires skill to make the cut and many of the Isaan farmers getting into this are not skillful in their tapping, which can cut the tree's life down.

A group I listened to last weekend have got a new invention which is an electric saw that removes the skilled element from tapping, and I think that is the sort of thing needed to make ruibber more profitable.

The govt gave away the trees, but most of the people getting them are the usual suspects, plus of course the people selling them are the usual suspects. It isn't about doing anything for the poor, it is just for appearance to skim govt money.

Anyway we have a fair few rai of rubber in Isaan; at the moment is as good as it gets.

[h5n1]

dude - youre in luck, coming up from chantaburi yesterday - i saw the first ever 'annual' runner expo (had to laugh). sign in thai but its 1-10th - somewhere down there i forget city. have a look!

[Heng]

Further downstream, but in the same industry, I know many (well, a few families anyway) folks doing quite well in rolled/sheet latex export. Certainly easier than running a plantation I think.

[ray23]

That probably makes a lot more since, usually the middle man makes more money with less labor in just about anything. My ex inlaws in the P.I. started with with a copra operation, put in a rice mill and fronted money for crops and then took land as collateral. They ended up owning a lot of land and never farmed themselves. Which I think is illegal here, but you get the idea.

Even if it is legal here and I don't know it may be difficult for a farrang to pull that one off.

There may be other crops that could give a better return for example real lemons the yellow ones, the Thai's don't like them and the farrangs do. So they are imported and are costly when you can find them. They are a easy crop.

I think the trick would be finding outlets that would stock them for farrangs.

It' like everything else doesn't matter what you make if you can't find a way to sell it you have no income. The sellers in life make the world go around.

[timber]

The return you will get on planting rubber trees have a few variables.

1. What is the land cost - (15,000-80,000 baht per rai)

2. What is the site good or bad (may make a big difference in latex production)

3. Investment to grow. Land clearing, irrigation, fertilization, silviculture.

4. You will most likely have someone tap the rubber for you. They will expect 50% - 60% of the return on the rubber.

5. Forgot cost of trees and planting.

6. Cost of money over the first 5 - 6 years. (no revenue)

Hmmm.... wild guess. return 3,000 baht gross revenue per rai. (before costs)

[SAP]

I am working for a company that has set up a Rubber servicing Co, we buy large area's of land and sell them to investors (50 rai blocks) and then provide all the services required for the customers

At a rubber price of 65 bt/kg yield National Thai average (288 kg/rai/yr) you are looking at about 7200 bt/rai profit.

If you look at a yield of 400 kg/rai/yr you are looking at a profit of approx 11,200 bt/rai/year

Cost of planting is mainly dependant on the purchase value of the land, does it need clearing??

It is case of economy to scale. Thai farmers never have the capital to invest into such a large area to make it profitable.

[Asian Frog]

I am working for a company that has set up a Rubber servicing Co, we buy large area's of land and sell them to investors (50 rai blocks) and then provide all the services required for the customers

At a rubber price of 65 bt/kg yield National Thai average (288 kg/rai/yr) you are looking at about 7200 bt/rai profit.

If you look at a yield of 400 kg/rai/yr you are looking at a profit of approx 11,200 bt/rai/year

Cost of planting is mainly dependant on the purchase value of the land, does it need clearing??

It is case of economy to scale. Thai farmers never have the capital to invest into such a large area to make it profitable.

65 TBT a kg!!! Whoah... this year the kg was bought to farmer below 30 TBT in Siwilai (Issan).

[Beardog]

I am working for a company that has set up a Rubber servicing Co, we buy large area's of land and sell them to investors (50 rai blocks) and then provide all the services required for the customers

At a rubber price of 65 bt/kg yield National Thai average (288 kg/rai/yr) you are looking at about 7200 bt/rai profit.

If you look at a yield of 400 kg/rai/yr you are looking at a profit of approx 11,200 bt/rai/year

Cost of planting is mainly dependant on the purchase value of the land, does it need clearing??

It is case of economy to scale. Thai farmers never have the capital to invest into such a large area to make it profitable.

65 TBT a kg!!! Whoah... this year the kg was bought to farmer below 30 TBT in Siwilai (Issan).

Went to Koh Kood last year & looked at some land for a million a Rai pretty much the going rate up there.

His land was loaded with rubber trees , machines to roll out into latex, the works he has been doing this

for 20 years

My girl asked him what he made on the rubber tress anually. he told her key! Buy the land for development resort. Rubber tress as well as coconuts do not generate good income especially for the output of toil required. he looked pretty haggered. I think mango lime lyche durian longan & vegetables

would be worth your time. coffee being the top of the chain , but it takes along time to grow a good bean. Save your money! They can't even sell land in Indonesia with rubber trees as it is so undesireable as they have to pay to have it cleared to be worth any value.

Maybe worthwhile on several 1000"s of Rai & Cambodians working it for 150 baht a day,looks like there is an easier way to make a buck. Unless your into it for a hobby!

Edited June 17, 2007 by Beardog