How much can you make per rai?

[Evolare]

That's funny I know several people who has farms and make great profits...but if you want have high income from that you should know what your doing. Effective farming is not passive income.

[David48]

That's funny I know several people who has farms and make great profits...but if you want have high income from that you should know what your doing. Effective farming is not passive income.

Thanks for dropping by.

Interesting ...

[khunPer]

»What I'm looking for is a bit of general advice, to give me an idea on what to research further (or to see if it's even worth researching).«

I’ve bought some farmland up Surin – or rather a plot my daughter; a plot in company name; and my GF bought some plots. Look at it as a long-term investment merely than a going business.

If you want to farm the land yourself what to “grow” is depending of what you can sell in the area, meaning growing corn is no use, if there is no wholesaler buying it. It may often be a choice down to rice, cassava (for bio ethanol) or sugar cane (Roiet is not that far from Surin).

You shall consider the investment and the running costs compared to the outcome:

Source The Nation 31-03-2008:

Production cost 1 Rai EQ 7,000 to 8,000 baht (07/08) (total incl. fertilizer)

Earlier: 3-4,000 baht.

1 Rai produce average 600-700 kg (white) rice

- - - -

Source Thai PBS 2014-07-22:

BANGKOK: -- Thai farmers are the poorest among other farmers in Asean countries with their net profit after rice sales falling to 1,555.97 baht/ton.

It said production cost/ton of rice paid by Thai farmers is 9,763.40 baht while rice harvest yields 450 kilogrammes per rai.

They obtained 11,319.37 baht/ton from rice sale. After cost deduction Thai farmers earned just 1,555.97 baht as net profit from a ton of rice sold...

[sic]

Sugar Cane lasts for 3 years, but the first year you will not make a profit, perhaps even a loss. Cassava seems to be the crop with least labor involved, but if it’s raining a lot it may cause bad quality and low price.

Planting rubber can be a good long-term investment, but the first 7 seven years you will have no outcome, only expenses taking good care of the baby-trees. Some grow for example beans between the rows of small rubber trees the first few years to make some profit, but that’s also a lot of work. When you can cut the trees it seems like an outcome of around 10k a year per rai, but you will need workers to cut, collect and prepare the rubber. A possibility is to share with someone already growing rubber, so they do the cutting on a split deal, often 40/60, so you will get 60 percent of the rubber sheets to sell yourself.

That’s what I know from family and land in Surin, perhaps some other members can give better advice.

I have no knowledge about keeping animals or having fish farming, but I know some farangs from the local Surin area has lost (lots of) money on that experiment, pigs and fish, without knowing the reason for what went wrong.

If you compare with initial investment in buying farmland, the outcome is often lower than a bank interest rate. If you lease out the land and let others do the farming, which lift you from the burden with labor, machines and administration (rice farming is by the way reserved for Thais), your outcome will be around 500 baht per rai per year in average. Often it’s a share in the harvest, some years little better, other years little lower. You will probably end up with the same (or less) net if you do the farming yourself. If you compare that to the investment in buying the land, for example 30k baht/rai, you will have between 1,5 and 2 percent “interest” of your investment.

When I say buying farmland shall be looked at as a long-term investment that is the rise in land price, and if that in average minimum doubles each 10-year period, it is a fairly good investment on top of a small interest. However you cannot own the land as a foreigner, has to be in a company and taxed, or owned by wife/GF/family with whatever risks that may involve. If you buy land in company name that need to be Chanute title on the deed and often the price is higher for Chanute title, in Surin area at the moment 60k to 100k per rai, which reduce the annual interest to less than 1 percent, more likely around 0.5 percent. Also bare in mind, that it may take (long) time to sell land and get paid, when you finally wish to cash in on your investment.

Wish you good luck with your plans.

450 kilograms per rai at an income of 11,319.37, that works out to 25.15 per kilogram, where were they getting a price like that, even under the rice scheme they weren't pay prices like that. There is a guy on this forum, I believe his name is Michael Harris. He lives in Ubon and buys seed crops, and suggests there is big money to be made from them. True or not, I don't know.

...think my quoted text says: »They obtained 11,319.37 baht/ton from rice sale.«

[pigeonjake]

and dont forget its hard work,,,,

that we shouldnt be doing,,,,, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,, lol

its a good life though,,

[somo]

The op is sort of on the right track,but its not in farming itself.

The next step up to middleman farming business is where the real gains are made.

Buying,storing,selling,transporting.

You forgot the most profitable of all - Financing

[The Deerhunter]

An idea which often floats around in my mind, when thinking about living in Thailand long term, is to invest in land and farm it.

1) you are not allowed to buy land in thailand.

2) without a work permit u can not work, and farming is not for us.

3) as an investment today this idea cant be worse....to me of course!

4) if you do , do everything legaly and be carefull of all the crabs who are going to tell you, there is no probleme here and there and that you can do it this way or that way.....you could regret it one day and loose quiet a lot of money too.

5) living here long term and get a long term visa, wich one ?????? i dont know this one!

so relax ....have some and think about all this before you put some money here.

ps:by the way if you want to invest here why dont you buy my wife's resort...? contact me, it will be a pleasure

http://www.hotel-resort-for-sale-ubon-ratchathani.sitew.eu

Buy a couple of rental properties in Auckland & live off them. Um! Other people do it.

[SlyAnimal]

An idea which often floats around in my mind, when thinking about living in Thailand long term, is to invest in land and farm it.

1) you are not allowed to buy land in thailand.

2) without a work permit u can not work, and farming is not for us.

3) as an investment today this idea cant be worse....to me of course!

4) if you do , do everything legaly and be carefull of all the crabs who are going to tell you, there is no probleme here and there and that you can do it this way or that way.....you could regret it one day and loose quiet a lot of money too.

5) living here long term and get a long term visa, wich one ?????? i dont know this one!

so relax ....have some and think about all this before you put some money here.

ps:by the way if you want to invest here why dont you buy my wife's resort...? contact me, it will be a pleasure

http://www.hotel-resort-for-sale-ubon-ratchathani.sitew.eu

Buy a couple of rental properties in Auckland & live off them. Um! Other people do it.

lol yeah that's what I've done.

Although Auckland property is massively overvalued and might crash soon (Although the banks + government are acting pretty responsibly with things, so it'll likely be either a smooth decline or easing off rather than a crash), so I'm looking for somewhere else to make easy returns.

[khounteen]

Buying property is always location, location, location. If you buy up land at a good location, no matter what you plant or do, it will definitely increase in value at a later stage, of course depending on the economy at the time. Fyi, at the moment there is a property bubble building up in Asia and Australia as well.

[Smithson]

I think there are possibilities with sun hemp seeds, certainly a market and not so easy to get hold of.

We are growing giant bamboo. Only real work is a bag of chicken manure once a year and keeping the weeds down early on. I think 20k per rai is achievable. It can grow among deep rooted trees without competing, so there's no need to clear land completely.

Not sure about Isaan though, best location is on hills with good rainfall and clay soil.

[khunPer]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

[gerry123]

My wife has several plots of land in Saraburi. One of the plots is 4 rai which is a rice farm. She rents out the 4 rai of rice farm for 8,000 baht a year. The income is so little, she employs her grandfather to collect the rent for her. And guess how much he gets for collecting the rent? 8,000 baht a year. She lets him keep the rent for some beer money and maybe a little lady once in a while.

Good luck.

I read that and that made me smile.

Still smiling.

"she employs her grandfather to collect the rent ... She lets him keep the rent for some beer money and maybe a little lady once in a while." ...

+1

[David48]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

Mate, if you don't get an answer after a while here ... start a new OP ... it's definitely Farming related.

Before the gf's parents were fish farmers ... they grew coconuts ... until the dreaded black beetle got hold of the palms.

[oldsailor35]

Keep your investments in NZ , as i would rather worry about currency fluctuations , Farming in Thailand has many pitfalls , ie crackdown on Thai nominee companies, when i went to Essan i didnt see many farmers driving mercs.

Good advice, it seems to me that farming for a farang here will purely be for hobby purposes.

[oldsailor35]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

You need good water supply (high rainfall)

23 to 25 trees per Rai.

Average yield per rai (ton).

1.9 to 2.2.tons. Trees over 4 yrs 2.45 tons. Begin cropping around 2 yrs

Price per ton varies, often daily, so you will have to look at the PO market price.

17 Rai average Bht100,000 per year

You need to be within reasonable distance of Pam Oil Mill.

Contractor cutters will cut and transport to mill at reasonable rates.

Best area for PO is from Chumpon south.

Best rainfall avg not less than 1800mm per year

Best avg sunlight 6 hrs daily

Days of drought preferably not more than 60 days

Very little in the way of pests, however Rats can be a nuisance as they chew the nuts.

Crop cut every 20 days, but my wife uses fertilizer so gets a crop every 15 days (many will not carry the extra expense, but in the long run it certainly pays)

Facts.

Rainfall........................Chumpon 2029mm

Krabi 1852mm

Surat Thani 1710mm

Prachup Kiri Khan 1160mm

Avg days of drought.

Prachup KK 195

Surat Thani 120

Krabi 90

Chumpon 82

Very good but expensive book.

"Growing Palm Oil"

By RHV Corley & PB Tinker.

ISBN. 0632052120.

It will tell you everything you need to know

7.8 acres = 20 Rai

Edited September 8, 2014 by oldsailor35

[oldsailor35]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

You need good water supply (high rainfall)

23 to 25 trees per Rai.

Average yield per rai (ton).

1.9 to 2.2.tons. Trees over 4 yrs 2.45 tons. Begin cropping around 2 yrs

Price per ton varies, often daily, so you will have to look at the PO market price.

17 Rai average Bht100,000 per year

You need to be within reasonable distance of Pam Oil Mill.

Contractor cutters will cut and transport to mill at reasonable rates.

Best area for PO is from Chumpon south.

Best rainfall avg not less than 1800mm per year

Best avg sunlight 6 hrs daily

Days of drought preferably not more than 60 days

Very little in the way of pests, however Rats can be a nuisance as they chew the nuts.

Crop cut every 20 days, but my wife uses fertilizer so gets a crop every 15 days (many will not carry the extra expense, but in the long run it certainly pays)

Facts.

Rainfall........................Chumpon 2029mm

Krabi 1852mm

Surat Thani 1710mm

Prachup Kiri Khan 1160mm

Avg days of drought.

Prachup KK 195

Surat Thani 120

Krabi 90

Chumpon 82

Very good but expensive book.

"Growing Palm Oil"

By RHV Corley & PB Tinker.

ISBN. 0632052120.

It will tell you everything you need to know

7.8 acres = 20 Rai

Just asked "er inside" and today's price is right down to 3.6 bht per kilo. Has been up to 9 bht, but to get reasonable profit they need

4.5 to 5 bht.

[khunPer]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

...

Woow, Many thanks OldSailor, for taking your time to write me so good and detailed information from a running farm, just what I need...

[David48]

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

You need good water supply (high rainfall)

23 to 25 trees per Rai.

Average yield per rai (ton).

1.9 to 2.2.tons. Trees over 4 yrs 2.45 tons. Begin cropping around 2 yrs

Price per ton varies, often daily, so you will have to look at the PO market price.

17 Rai average Bht100,000 per year

You need to be within reasonable distance of Pam Oil Mill.

Contractor cutters will cut and transport to mill at reasonable rates.

Best area for PO is from Chumpon south.

Best rainfall avg not less than 1800mm per year

Best avg sunlight 6 hrs daily

Days of drought preferably not more than 60 days

Very little in the way of pests, however Rats can be a nuisance as they chew the nuts.

Crop cut every 20 days, but my wife uses fertilizer so gets a crop every 15 days (many will not carry the extra expense, but in the long run it certainly pays)

Facts.

Rainfall........................Chumpon 2029mm

Krabi 1852mm

Surat Thani 1710mm

Prachup Kiri Khan 1160mm

Avg days of drought.

Prachup KK 195

Surat Thani 120

Krabi 90

Chumpon 82

Very good but expensive book.

"Growing Palm Oil"

By RHV Corley & PB Tinker.

ISBN. 0632052120.

It will tell you everything you need to know

7.8 acres = 20 Rai

Mate, I warmly encourage you to write a thread specific to this subjectt.

Great Post ...

[oldsailor35]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

...

Woow, Many thanks OldSailor, for taking your time to write me so good and detailed information from a running farm, just what I need...

You are more than welcome,good luck, however you did not say where you intend locating.

[oldsailor35]

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

You need good water supply (high rainfall)

23 to 25 trees per Rai.

Average yield per rai (ton).

1.9 to 2.2.tons. Trees over 4 yrs 2.45 tons. Begin cropping around 2 yrs

Price per ton varies, often daily, so you will have to look at the PO market price.

17 Rai average Bht100,000 per year

You need to be within reasonable distance of Pam Oil Mill.

Contractor cutters will cut and transport to mill at reasonable rates.

Best area for PO is from Chumpon south.

Best rainfall avg not less than 1800mm per year

Best avg sunlight 6 hrs daily

Days of drought preferably not more than 60 days

Very little in the way of pests, however Rats can be a nuisance as they chew the nuts.

Crop cut every 20 days, but my wife uses fertilizer so gets a crop every 15 days (many will not carry the extra expense, but in the long run it certainly pays)

Facts.

Rainfall........................Chumpon 2029mm

Krabi 1852mm

Surat Thani 1710mm

Prachup Kiri Khan 1160mm

Avg days of drought.

Prachup KK 195

Surat Thani 120

Krabi 90

Chumpon 82

Very good but expensive book.

"Growing Palm Oil"

By RHV Corley & PB Tinker.

ISBN. 0632052120.

It will tell you everything you need to know

7.8 acres = 20 Rai

Mate, I warmly encourage you to write a thread specific to this subjectt.

Great Post ...

Ha Ha Ha ! would be more interested if PO trees produced Sang Som. There is plenty more interesting info available on PO i just gleen bits and pieces and file them away. The old FIL was a shrewd old bugger, always kept in with nearby neighbours and when they had run out of "whisky money" he just bought them out, always with the plan to be able to join all the small farms together, some just 8 rai. Then the silly old bugger up and dies, however 'er inside' used to listen and learn from him, and believe it or not is about to buy another adjoining 10 rai. There are often small ones for sale around. Way to go, its really now a case of administration, but she does piss me off sometimes spending unecessary hours helping put fertilizer down. Ahhhh a tough life having to watch,so i waste time putting up with life on Samui.

Edited September 11, 2014 by oldsailor35

[khunPer]

Do anyone of you forum members, who do farming or have Thai farmer family, have any knowledge about or experience in growing oil palms…?

Will be pleased to know, also potential outcome per rai…!

Many thanks.

My wife has 91 Rai near to Suratthani.

...

Woow, Many thanks OldSailor, for taking your time to write me so good and detailed information from a running farm, just what I need...

You are more than welcome,good luck, however you did not say where you intend locating.

Living on Samui, but GF's mum up Surin suddently have an idea that my GF shall buy and put oil palms on her land. We don't think it's a good idea, but my GF wished to check carefully first. Found some detailed PDF reports, but better listening to a real farmer.