Too Much Rubber, Too Few Tires Leaves Tappers in a Sticky Place
- Output surging after record prices sparked tree planting
- Farmers lose money on every drop as China import demand slows
Drops of water fall from a pile of rubber sheets after washing process at the Thai Hua Rubber Pcl factory in Samnuktong, Rayong province, Thailand, on Tuesday, October 27, 2015.
Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Dario Pignatelli/BloombergAs rubber prices slumped toward a six-year low, 20 of 30 workers who drained the sticky latex from trees on Winai Chaikunanant’s plantation in Thailand quit. Even with income sharing, they earned less than the minimum wage.
Winai isn’t faring much better. The 70-year-old loses money on every kilogram produced on the farm he’s tended for five decades because government subsidies aren’t big enough to make up the difference. Half his trees were left untapped this season, and he plans to raze about 100 rai (40 acres) to grow cassava or pineapple instead. And the market may only get worse for rubber growers.