Case Study 3: Companies Exporting Rubber Trees

Latex Companies in Phuket

The process of making latex and making the latex into each product requires time and effort. During the start of the rubber tree plantation you can only cut out the latex from the rubber tree when it is 150 centimeters away from the ground and 50 centimeters thick. You'd have to cut 30-35 degrees downwards to tap out the latex. Rubber tree tappers would wake up extra early to change the cup and to cut more latex. 

After they collect the latex, they then put it through machineries and make new everyday products to be exported and sold by big companies which then goes to homes and people use them. Phuket has many latex companies such as Phuket Orchid Latex, G.M Latex Phuket and Real Phuket Latex which mainly sells latex furnitures and products for homes. 

G.M latex Phuket is a company which sells mattresses for health and is located in Chalong. It exports cloths made from rubber. Phuket Orchid Latex is a company that also produces rubber beds and other rubber products. This company started on the 23rd of February 2015 and has started with 1,000,000 baht. It is located in Ratsada, Mueang.

People living in Phuket rely on the rubber companies, not only for the usage of the product, but also for jobs to pay for families. Rubber companies had a huge influence in the Phuket history, for trading and exporting products to other countries. Without the rubber trees, Phuket would not be as it is like today, both physically and economically. People developed jobs out of it and if they weren't any rubber trees, where would the people get their money from? Therefore, rubber trees were and are very important to Thailand and Phuket.

Case Study 2: Rubber Tree Plantation Economy

Rubber Tree Economy

Rubber trees are important economic plants in Thailand. Thailand was the biggest country which produced and exported rubber trees since the year 1991. Thailand exported about 1.6 million tons of rubber products which valued about 41 billion baht. 

In 1994, exports of rubber wood furniture brought in 297 million USA dollars, accounting for 70% of Malaysia's furniture exports. In 1997, Thailand exported 2 million tons of latex which accounted for the world latex production (ITTO 2000). In 1998, the country exported rubber wood furniture for a value of about 683 million USA dollars.


Rubber wood was sold and exported which also gave lots of money to Thailand, meaning it was quite an important wood to the Thai economy. Rubber woods were sold to many furniture industries around the world and the amount of money made could grow even more in the future due to the amount of products that are increasing each year. 

During the year 2009, rubber wood supplies in Thailand were 14 billion and the annual growth was at 20%. 80% of that rubber wood was exported to China and the rest went to Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, USA, Canada, Malaysia, India and Indonesia.

In December 2010, a 100 rai of rubber trees would get 660,000 baht. And by 7 months they would get 4.6 million baht. The current production of rubber is is 2.87 million tons per year and exports 2.57 million tons per year. 

Case Study 1: The man who brought Rubber Tree Plantation into Thailand

Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi (Khaw Sin Bee)

Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi, formerly called Khaw Sin Bee Na Ranong, was born on April 8, 1857 in Ranong, south of Thailand. He is the 6th son of Phraya Damrong Sucharit Mahison Phakdi (Khaw Soo Cheang). His father was the first person from the Ranong family to become the first governor of the Ranong province. After his father died, his brother suggested him to guard King Rama 5 and then he was assigned to be governor of Saraburi, a province in the central Thailand, northeast to Bangkok.  

Afterwards, Khaw Sin Bee was assigned to be Commissioner of Monthon Phuket which included 7 territories including Phuket, Trang, Phang-nga, Satun, Takuapa, Krabi and Ranong. Khaw Sin Bee got the idea of rubber tree plantation when we visited Malaysia. He saw that Malays were planting rubber trees and that they were producing a great amount of money and had a booming economy. He was interested and wanted to bring the idea into Thailand but he couldn't at the time because the owner didn't give him the seeds for that type of tree. Phra Sathon Santhanphitak visited Indonesia in 1901 and managed to bring in rubber seedling in 1899 and planted his first tree at his home in Trang. 

Phra Sathon Santhanphitak expanded the rubber tree plantation to 45 areas. After that, Khaw Sin Bee sent people to investigate and study the rubber trees and the methods. The rubber tree idea made a fortune. Rubber trees were planted in the South and the East and having 9 million rubber tree plantation which were owned by about 5 milion families around Thailand. The people relied on Rubber trees and it was a major job for people. It was that big that rubber trees became an economic plant of Thailand after rice and Khaw Sin Bee then became "Father of Rubber". 

Rubber Tree Plantation

Rubber Trees 

  

    Rubber trees are trees which produce latex which is used to make materials such as rubber toys, rubber bands, elastics and much more. In approximately 7 years the rubber tree produces 1 kilogram of rubber. Rubber trees grow up to 50 feet (15.42 meters) tall and live up to 100 years. They take approximately 6 years to grow and until they are able to produce latex. In Phuket there are many rubber trees which impacted and changed how Phuket is like today.

Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi, the Commissioner of Monthon Phuket was the one who thought of the idea of planting rubber trees in Phuket. He got his ideas from when he visited Malaysia and Indonesia which had had rubber trees planted and they were getting a lot of money. In 1899 Khaw Soo Cheang then brought in the seeds to south Thailand and planted the first tree. 

Rubber Trees then became Thailand's major exporting product. It has affected Phuket both economically and physically. In a rubber tree farm, they can produce anywhere from 200kg to 400kg of rubber per rai, per year. That could sell up to 720 000 baht per year, depending on how big each farm is. There are also many rubber tree farms in Phuket which fills up about 40% of Phuket's area. Today, rubber trees cover over 33% of Phuket's area, it has decreased from the past due to more buildings.When you drive past you'd see thousands of rubber trees in lines with little black/brown cups on the tree with white liquid dripping down. 

Rubber trees are really important to Phuket as they have so many benefits. Many people in Phuket have jobs as to cut the latex out and to make the latex and the people selling the final product so people live on rubber tree's finances.