Thread: Rubber trees 101

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by ltnt

Many here switched to these beans over the cassava and are making a pretty good earner out of it.

Monkey see, monkey do. Soon there'll be over production and the market will collapse. And on we go.

Good description Pragmatic ,market stall opens selling cheap pizzas and doing OK, pretty soon there,s 5 selling the same stuff ,after a few weeks 4 close down for lack of custom , lesson is any market commodity will soon be flooded by over production and the price will eventually collapse ,this was seen in quite dramatic fashion with Thaksins Failed rice scheme , were the rich got richer and now the poor are poorer .

BP today, Thailand is number 1 in rice production again...happy days are here again.

Originally Posted by ltnt

BP today, Thailand is number 1 in rice production again...happy days are here again.

I wonder just how much the farmers are getting paid per tonne today in comparison to what they received last year ? happy days are here again

My BIL got pretty good money for his rice, but he was one of the first to harvest. Many held on to their rice hoping for the price to go up.

SIL just did 7 rai of red beans and got 49,000 baht for it @38 baht /kilo. 1,290 kilos in case you're calc'ing. Pretty fair days work...

Originally Posted by ltnt

SIL just did 7 rai of red beans and got 49,000 baht for it

Originally Posted by ltnt

Pretty fair days work...

Is that taking into account her out goings? Thais seem to not understand about including their expenses. They just see the end results and think they've hit the jackpot.

No outgoings, seeds from previous years plantings and her labor and a few hirelings sharing the burden of harvesting...all in the family btw. They all work together, sort of an informal co-op. Wifes brother got 1,100 baht/ton for his rice. Those who waited another month got 1,200/ton. I don't know if he went down to collect the freebee from the new Government @ 1,500/rai or not. That would be a topper wouldn't it? Especially if he got the max amount 15,000.

Originally Posted by ltnt

My BIL got pretty good money for his rice, but he was one of the first to harvest. Many held on to their rice hoping for the price to go up.

SIL just did 7 rai of red beans and got 49,000 baht for it @38 baht /kilo. 1,290 kilos in case you're calc'ing. Pretty fair days work...

How much income would they have got for 7 rai of rice on the same land?

Originally Posted by ltnt

No outgoings, seeds from previous years plantings and her labor and a few hirelings sharing the burden of harvesting...all in the family btw.

I don't see that. You can't work on your own land and not take your time into consideration based on that if she hadn't worked on her land for free she could have been earning 300 Baht a day working for someone else. So her time and that of others must be entered as outgoings in the equation. I'm sorry but Thais don't calculate their time as they aren't getting paid, so 49,000 is all profit in their book. Just my take on it.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by ltnt

No outgoings, seeds from previous years plantings and her labor and a few hirelings sharing the burden of harvesting...all in the family btw.

I don't see that. You can't work on your own land and not take your time into consideration based on that if she hadn't worked on her land for free she could have been earning 300 Baht a day working for someone else. So her time and that of others must be entered as outgoings in the equation. I'm sorry but Thais don't calculate their time as they aren't getting paid, so 49,000 is all profit in their book. Just my take on it.

That's understandable...
Yet, a common trait not to calculate one's [and other family members] own hours when working the land - regardless of what is being produced, especially when working their own land alongside immediate or extended family.

The seasonal end "profits" might be divvied up and shared when brought to market, more common than not.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by ltnt

No outgoings, seeds from previous years plantings and her labor and a few hirelings sharing the burden of harvesting...all in the family btw.

I don't see that. You can't work on your own land and not take your time into consideration based on that if she hadn't worked on her land for free she could have been earning 300 Baht a day working for someone else. So her time and that of others must be entered as outgoings in the equation. I'm sorry but Thais don't calculate their time as they aren't getting paid, so 49,000 is all profit in their book. Just my take on it.

Spot on Pragmatic , unfortunately the Thai logic that the time spent working for themselves plus fertilizer etc is some how of no account when they could be earning 300/400 a day with food thrown in working for some one else or a company some how evades them when they do a final reckoning as to just how much they have actually profited for their labours,maybe thats why the Thai Chinese who run this Country both politically and economy call these Issan Thai's as buffalo's

I had a friend who, in this example, was growing Sweet Corn. He was paying his FiL over the odds to come in everyday to switch on a tap to water the plants. He was paying for all the extras that are needed in growing a crop. He knew the crop wouldn't produce a return and told his wife. On harvesting all she could see was the money that she received and took great pleasure, I assume, in showing him he was wrong. They just can't work it out.

Originally Posted by piwanoi

the Thai Chinese who run this Country both politically and economy call these Issan Thai's as buffalo's

Which reminds me of when I took my missus to BKK for the first time. We got off at Moh Chit and were looking for a taxi when she turned to me and said 'don't let people know we're from Isaan'. Why? I asked. 'Because people in BKK think all people from Isaan are stupid'.
I'm with the people from BKK.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by piwanoi

the Thai Chinese who run this Country both politically and economy call these Issan Thai's as buffalo's

Which reminds me of when I took my missus to BKK for the first time. We got off at Moh Chit and were looking for a taxi when she turned to me and said 'don't let people know we're from Isaan'. Why? I asked. 'Because people in BKK think all people from Isaan are stupid'.
I'm with the people from BKK.

Considering a vast majority of the demographic population that make up Bangkok today are from Isaan...

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by piwanoi

the Thai Chinese who run this Country both politically and economy call these Issan Thai's as buffalo's

Which reminds me of when I took my missus to BKK for the first time. We got off at Moh Chit and were looking for a taxi when she turned to me and said 'don't let people know we're from Isaan'. Why? I asked. 'Because people in BKK think all people from Isaan are stupid'.
I'm with the people from BKK.

Considering a vast majority of the demographic population that make up Bangkok today are from Isaan...

It's probably comes from the stereotypes in the Thai soap operas they all love so much, all white skinned Bangkok actors/actresses with the token Isaanite in the show for them to laugh at. And we all know how seriously Thais take their soaps.....

Something missed, our western minds work on hours worked and returns on labor.
Thais see it differently, working your own lands with extended family is not work, just like people in the west who take care of their gardens, horses etc.
Have met people who make $!,000 a day, who are happy to spend a day a week tending roses to win a plastic medal, for that they could hire a full time gardener.

A simple life, while it remains, is not a bad life, come the rains whole families, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grand parents, kids and dogs will go camping in huts in the rice paddies.
An extended family bonding as one, none will ever be alone, they are part of a clan.
Money is good, but family lasts when the money has gone, so hard to put an hourly rate on work done.

By the way, opening a bar in Buntharik, going to do burgers and chips, booze of course. Cost to me zero, BIL flash with cash thinks a farang bar is a goer, profits divided out, meaning, no profits, my wife helps cooking OZ type food, Aunt cooks German food and Thai, I get the other 4 farangs in a 30 km radius to come.

Rents 5 grand a month, rooms up stairs to pass out, BIL drops a 100,000 over the year, if it works, everyone watches TV, I drink at cost, family eat and the family is one.
Except for the FIL, who hopefully goes down for a few years in July.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Something missed, our western minds work on hours worked and returns on labor.
Thais see it differently, working your own lands with extended family is not work, just like people in the west who take care of their gardens, horses etc.
Have met people who make $!,000 a day, who are happy to spend a day a week tending roses to win a plastic medal, for that they could hire a full time gardener.

A simple life, while it remains, is not a bad life, come the rains whole families, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grand parents, kids and dogs will go camping in huts in the rice paddies.
An extended family bonding as one, none will ever be alone, they are part of a clan.
Money is good, but family lasts when the money has gone, so hard to put an hourly rate on work done.

By the way, opening a bar in Buntharik, going to do burgers and chips, booze of course. Cost to me zero, BIL flash with cash thinks a farang bar is a goer, profits divided out, meaning, no profits, my wife helps cooking OZ type food, Aunt cooks German food and Thai, I get the other 4 farangs in a 30 km radius to come.

Rents 5 grand a month, rooms up stairs to pass out, BIL drops a 100,000 over the year, if it works, everyone watches TV, I drink at cost, family eat and the family is one.
Except for the FIL, who hopefully goes down for a few years in July.

Yeah...
All good, Jim.

Still difficult for some narrow souls to comprehend.
They'll insist that if it's not a copy of the Western linear way, it's all vacant of something - even though this lifestyle has been the norm forever.

Originally Posted by thaimeme

the Western linear way

Dreamers...

Originally Posted by ltnt

Perhaps the stupid one's are those Foreigners who think they know how things work inside Thai families but really don't have a clue.

If you're having a dig at me then you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't work, I'm here full time and I have nothing to do other than observing, Thai rural, working practices.

Originally Posted by ltnt

No fertilizers used in the beans, no water other than rain, and all hand picked and sorted.

Red beans need fertilizer full stop. They also need water which indicates your SiL only grows beans in the rain season. Red beans have a 'seed to harvest' time of 100 to 130 days. So possible 3 crops per year. So it's labour intensive which has to be accounted for.
If the above quote wasn't aimed at me then please ignore my post.

^B.S., ridiculous.

Back on topic. Rubber. Sold at auction in Udon province yesterday, cup @ 20.12 baht per kg. Again, 2 more weeks to go on the main plot before shutdown. Younger plots 2 & 3 already just shut down. Will do my books in 2 weeks, looks like we are 5-6 metric tonnes up, and about 40k baht down on the season.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Back on topic. Rubber. Sold at auction in Udon province yesterday, cup @ 20.12 baht per kg. Again, 2 more weeks to go on the main plot before shutdown. Younger plots 2 & 3 already just shut down. Will do my books in 2 weeks, looks like we are 5-6 metric tonnes up, and about 40k baht down on the season.

Sorry to read that Guzzi,lets hope the market bucks up in the near future ,however with the plunging price of Oil this may be some what Optimistic ,but at least they ain't cut off your two hands, and with your positive attitude, I'm sure you will be able to ride out the storm

Thank you, kind sir.

Originally Posted by thaiguzzi

Thank you, kind sir.

I nave always admired people who are not afraid of bending their backs and getting their hands dirty ,you appear the fit into that category quite nicely ,and your present dilemma is not of your own making ,which in truth I find rather sad .

this is a tremendously helpful thread. every time my wife says let's start/buy a rubber farm, I use this thread to illustrate that the farming and business elements of a rubber farm are quite complicated. I suspect that rubber prices, like oil, will go up, and I am hoping soon Wishing all those involved the very best.