Rubber in Myanmar is planted mainly in Mon State, Tanintharyi Region, and
Kayin State and also moderately in Shan State, Bago Region and Kachin State.
Natural rubber produced in the country is mainly exported. According to
official data, of the total production of 210,000 tonnes in 2016-17, 141,000
tonnes was exported mainly to China, Malaysia and also to Singapore, Korea
& Japan. It is estimated that only about 18,000-20,000 tonnes is consumed
by the domestic industries.
“Majority of the rubber holdings in Myanmar are smallholdings with less than
20 acres which constitute 89.67% in number and 45.66% in area. Medium-sized
holdings of between 20 to 100 acres constitute 9.06% in number and 24.32% in
area. The rest represents those holdings of over 100 acres and above. The
rubber sector in the country employs about 450,000-500,000 people mostly in
the planting, maintenance and tapping or latex harvesting areas,” says Hla
Myint, Advisor, Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association.
|
Entering the rubber plantation.
Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life of rubber
trees in plantations is around 32 years, with up to 7 years being an
immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase.
|
|
Rubber tapping.
Rubber tapping is the process by which latex is collected from a rubber
tree.
-
The latex is harvested by slicing a groove into the bark of the tree
at a depth of one-quarter inch (6.4 mm) with a hooked knife and
peeling back the bark.
-
Trees must be approximately six years old and six inches (150 mm) in
diameter in order to be tapped for latex.
-
See more at
Rubber tapping - Wikipedia.
|
|
Latex collection container.
In places such as Kerala and Sri Lanka, where coconuts are in abundance,
the half shell of coconut was used as the latex collection container.
-
Glazed pottery or aluminium or plastic cups became more common in
Kerala-India and other countries.
-
The cups are supported by a wire that encircles the tree. This wire
incorporates a spring so it can stretch as the tree grows.
|
|
Smallholders' lump.
Smallholders' lump is produced by smallholders, who collect rubber from
trees far from the nearest factory.
-
Many smallholders, who farm paddies in remote areas, tap dispersed
trees on their way to work in the paddy fields and collect the latex
(or the coagulated latex) on their way home.
-
As it is often impossible to preserve the latex sufficiently to get it
to a factory that processes latex in time for it to be used to make
high quality products, and as the latex would anyway have coagulated
by the time it reached the factory, the smallholder will coagulate it
by any means available, in any container available.
|
|
Tapping knive.
The farmer shows his tapping knive.
|
|
Rubber sheets drying.
Some smallholders use small containers, buckets etc., but often the
latex is coagulated in holes in the ground, which are usually lined with
plastic sheeting.
-
Acidic materials and fermented fruit juices are used to coagulate the
latex — a form of assisted biological coagulation.
-
Little care is taken to exclude twigs, leaves, and even bark from the
lumps that are formed, which may also include tree lace.
|
See also
Source
Location
