Rubber cultivation in malaysia

Intro
Malaysia is the leading producer of natural rubber in the world. About 46% of the worlds rubber is produced in Malaysia .The rubber plantation was started in Malaysia The rubber was started in Malaysia in 1877.First,the seedling were brought from the Amazon basin, and were planted here on experimental basis. Later , when the rubber seedling were successfully planted ,attempts were made to produce it on a commercial scale. The British people, who colonized the region and introduced rubber tree, provided the capital for clearing the forest and planting rubber trees. They also provided the markets for rubber The skilled labor that was needed was managed from India and other parts of world.
Malaysia is the third leading producer of natural rubber in the world, and its well established and superior quality is widely used as a benchmark in the international market. The Malaysian rubber industry produces a broad range of products from natural rubber as well as rubber wood products .Malaysia remains the worlds leading producers and exporter of natural rubber medic gloves, catheters and latex threads  


Natural rubber is a renewable raw material produced by the hevea tree. Its unique characteristics include malleability, elasticity, waterproofing, mechanical and thermal resistance, insulation from electricity, and grip on all types of surfaces.
Rubber is elastic, flexible, airtight, watertight, long lasting and insulating, to mention just a few of its properties. There are thousands of products, which take advantage of these useful properties. Some will be familiar to you, others less so because many rubber products do their work unseen.





HISTORY


How the rubber industry began,


Of all the wonderful tales brought back by Christopher Columbus in 1496 after his second voyage to the New World, none was stranger than the tale of a ball, which bounced. The people of Haiti made these playballs from the gum of a tree.


Although they did not realise it, Columbus and his crew were the first Europeans to see this unique substance – rubber. It did not get its name until much later – in 1770, an eminent English chemist, Joseph Priestley, noted the ability of this substance to ‘rub out’ pencil marks, and ever since it has been called rubber in the English language.


In spite of the interest it aroused very little use was made of the new discovery. This was mainly because no one knew how to prevent the rubber becoming sticky in summer and brittle in winter.
In the early nineteenth century, all this changed. In 1820, Thomas Hancock, an Englishman invented a machine, which would soften, mix and shape rubber. It was then possible to dissolve rubber and start making useful products.


Soon after ,there was another important discovery, this time by an American. In 1839, Charles Goodyear found by accident that raw rubber could be improved by heating it with sulphur. The new material produced, called vulcanized rubber, was no longer affected by changes in temperature.


As other inventors found uses for rubber the demand grew. Some of the first products to be made from rubber were hose, conveyor belts, flooring and footwear – these still use rubber today. In the middle of the nineteenth century rubber came from South America, where the hot wet climate suited the wild rubber tree, but it was very difficult to collect it from the dense jungle. It soon became obvious that more rubber would have to be grown elsewhere to meet the demand. Thus started the story of rubber cultivation.


Rubber was not a native tree of Malaysia ….The story of how rubber was introduced to Malaysia is like this….
In 1876, Sir Henry Wickham, at the request of the India Office, collected and shipped from Brazil 70,000 seeds from the wild rubber tree. These were rushed to Kew Gardens in London and planted in specially prepared hot-houses. The small number, which survived, were taken in 1877 to Ceylon and later to Malaysia and other countries of South-east Asia.
The rubber tree quickly flourished in Malaysia; large areas of jungle were cut down and planted with rubber trees
By the end of the nineteenth century there were 2500 hectares of rubber in Asia. Shortly afterwards Henry Ford started making his famous motorcar and the demand for rubber – to make tyres – rocketed. The trees in the South American jungle could not possibly produce enough rubber and so the new plantations of Malaysia found that the world wanted all the rubber they could produce, and more. By 1910 there were ½ million hectares of rubber planted and the countries of Asia mainly Malaysia had now become the main suppliers of rubber.










Distribution of rubber cultivation
Area of Production
Rubber can grow anywhere in Malaysia, because of the suitability of climate and soil; but most of the rubber estates are concentrated in the western coastal plains of Malaysia. The plantation in coastal zone gets the advantage of nearest port for it’s export. Yet very low areas are avoided in order not to suffer from stagnation of water. The greatest production is in its Jahore State of Southern Malaysia. Here Rubber cultivation occupies about 4-2 million acres or about 65% of the total cultivated area in the country
Peninsular Malaysia – comprising 12 of the 14 states in the Malaysian federation – is among the world’s most important rubber growing areas. Rubber is also grown in Sabah (formerly North Borneo) and Sarawak, which, known together as East Malaysia make up Malaysia.
  Altogether Malaysia produces almost 20% of the world’s natural rubber. A good deal of Malaysia’s rubber (over half) comes from thousands of privately owned plots of land called small holdings, which are usually about 2 hectares. The rest is grown on big estates owned by various companies; each can cover over a thousand hectares. Altogether, Malaysia has 1.7 million hectares of rubber.


Conditions favourable for growing rubber
Climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber tees are:
1.rainfall of 2000 to 3000 mm without any marked dry seasons and with 125 to 150 rainy days per annum.
2.Maximum remprature of about 29°Ct0 34°C and minimum of about 20°C or more with a monthly mean of 25 to 28°C
3.High athmospheric humidity of order of 80%
4.bright sunshine amounting to about 2000h per annum at rate of 6 hours per daythrough all of month
5.Absence of strong winds




Conditions favourable for rubber cultivation in Malaysia                                                                                       
The natural home of wild rubber tree (The Havea Brasiliensls) is in the Amazon Selvas. the hot-wet climate is most suitable for its growth. tapping of the trees are done during dry days. Rain will hinder tapping process. 
It is a big tree, can grow up to 15-20 meters tall, so the planting distance between trees are ranged between 3-5 meters apart, providing around 250-350 plants per acre. The plants take about 3 years to grow before they are being tap.
Most suitable geological factors are
· A mean temperature of 27°C, never falling below 22°C.
· Heavy rainfall above 200 cm., with no drought.
· Deep rich soils with good drainage preferably scrumbly, well-oxidized and acidic in reaction
· Adequate supply of labour is an important factor for the collection and plantation of rubber over large holdings.
The natural home of wild rubber tree (The Havea Brasiliensls) is in the Amazon Selvas. Hence the hot-wet climate of Malaysia is most suitable for its growth the rubber trees need:


 But now these have been split into small family-based holdings to reduce the capital investment, cost and problems of employing a large labour forces. Half of total production now comes from small-sized plantations.














Uses 
The early uses of the material were quite limited.  Initially the problem of natural rubber was its sensitivity to temperature changes, which altered its shape and consistency.  In 1839 Charles Goodyear improved the process called vulcanization, which modified rubber now rubber is used for making innumerable articles ranging from footwear, sports goods, cushions, insulated material for cable, pencil erasers to tyres and tubes.
However, it is its use for making tyres and tubes of automobiles which is of greatest importance. Thus, indirectly, rubber helps in promoting the system of modern transport and communication Most of the world’s rubber is used in tyres As well as tyres, modern cars and lorries use a lot of rubber in other ways. Many motorway bridges are mounted on large blocks of natural rubber to allow the bridge to expand and contract when the temperature goes up or down. Some buildings are now built on similar rubber blocks to help stop vibration, particularly if they are near railways. the adhesive on transparent sticky tape is made of rubber In this and many other ways rubber helps to make life quieter and more comfortable.


Rubber Export
Malaysia produces about 1-5 million tons of natural rubber annually. A major part of it is sent to Singapore or Penang, from where it is exported all over the world. The chief rubber-importing countries are:
(i) Singapore (for re-export),
(ii) Russia and European countries,
(iii) the U.S.A.,
(iv) Japan and
(v) India.
Method of rubber cultivation tapping ,processing. 
Planting of Rubber Trees
The work of a rubber plantation is done very scientifically. Every tree of a rubber estate is carefully looked after. For this, some special type of labourers are employed. Rubber is planted from the seedlings, and becomes ready for tapping in 6 or 7 years. For making the rubber plants high-yielding, its seedlings are grafted. This is done in a very interesting way. When the seedlings are about 5 or 6 cm. in diameter, buds from the selected high-yielding trees are grafted on to the seedlings. This is done to transmit the high-yielding quality of the “mother-tree”. The graft is, then, kept bound and left for a few weeks. After a few weeks the grafted buds sprout. Then, the old tree is cut off just above the point of union. The grafted seedlings are, then, planted in row 5 or 6 meters apart from each other. In order to conserve the soil and its fertility, some crop covers (leguminous creepers etc.) are planted in between the seedling trees. During the period of its growth, planters take all the measures against pest and diseases. Manure and fertilizer are regularly added.










Rubber Tapping
All natural rubber originates in the Hevea tree, and it starts its journey when the tree is tapped. Trees are rarely tapped more often than once every two days.
Tapping is done by wounding the bark of the rubber trees. When the liquid latex flows out, it is collected in vessels If you were a rubber tapper you would have to get up very early in the morning, as the rubber latex flows more easily before the heat of the day begins. Latex is a milk-like fluid contained in tiny cells situated beneath the outer bark of the rubber tree. The latex is obtained from the tree by tapping that is cutting away a thin shaving of the bark. This cut, which is made with a special tapping knife, pierces the cells and the latex oozes slowly out to a collecting cup placed below. 
In two or three hours the flow of latex ceases. By the time the tapper has cut his last tree for the day the latex collecting cup of the first is ready to be emptied into a larger container. When all the cups have been emptied the full containers are taken to the factory, where the latex is turned into raw rubber.


Rubber trees are not tapped until about five years after planting; by then they can produce enough rubber to make tapping worthwhile.


After processing it is sent to one of Malaysia’s ports to be shipped overseas. Malaysian rubber goes to every country in the world and is recognized to be the best.


If you were working on your own smallholding you would probably take your latex to a group processing centre to process the latex into sheets or sell it to Mardec, a government agency which processes rubber into technically specified form. The big estates have their own machines. After processing it is sent to one of Malaysia’s ports to be shipped overseas. Malaysian rubber goes to every country in the world and is recognized to be the best.


Rubber Processing
Coagulation
The latex obtained from the tree is treated chemically at the plantation factory. After the collection of latex, it is sieved to remove the foreign matter. After this, it is put into tanks and coagulated or thickened by the addition of acetic or formic acid. Each tank may have several aluminum partitions that allow the coagulated rubber to be removed in thick slabs. The slabs are, then washed with acid and passed through rollers which press them into the rubber.


Advantages of rubber cultivations


Environment
The rising tide of environmental consciousness has put rubber cultivation in
favourable light. Atmospheric pollution from the release of 'greenhouse gases',
especially carbon dioxide, from the combustion of fossil fuels and the depletion of
forests, especially the tropical rain forests, have been viewed with great concern.
Studies have shown that rubber trees convert carbon dioxide at a rate comparable to if
not better than that of the natural forest. The potential of natural rubber for
sequestering the carbon from the atmosphere to support the ecosystem is widely
recognised and adopted for establishing new forests or for reforestation purposes.
Besides being environmentally friendly, natural rubber trees are a renewable resource
where rubberwood can be extracted on a shorter cycle without endangering the
environment.


Transgenic rubber tree as medicine
In recent years, many inroads have been made into the other potential by-products of
the rubber tree. Besides planting Hevea for rubber and timber, the rubber tree can also
be genetically engineered for novel applications. By transforming Hevea with genes that
control the production of commercial proteins (e.g. pharmaceuticals), transgenic rubber
plants could serve as efficient, low cost, low maintenance and environment-friendly
production lines for the production of the targeted protein. Instead of expressing
commercially valuable proteins, transgenic rubber trees can serve as living ‘factories’
to produce pharmaceuticals in the latex it exudes. Using this approach, a recombinant
antibody has been successfully produced in the latex of the transgenic rubber plant.




The Malaysian Natural Rubber Industry
In the last decade, the world NR industry has undergone very rapid and fundamental
changes with the appearance of many new players, in particular the growth of some
traditional suppliers and the emergence of new ones. Much of the changes and
consequent challenges, both internally and externally, have impacted on Malaysia's
comparative and competitive advantage in NR cultivation.
Notwithstanding this, the Malaysian rubber industry has evolved through the years
and transformed itself into a more integrated industry where the rapid developments
of the mid- and downstream industries have made the industry a multi-billion ringgit
one. This was vastly aided by the introduction of the three Industrial Master Plans
which gave greater impetus to the growth of the rubber and rubberwood
manufacturing sectors. The rubber cultivation industry or the upstream sector became
a major raw material supplier to two value-added resource-based industries. With this
development, the competitiveness of the rubber industry as a whole has been greatly
enhanced.
Another positive factor that cannot be overlooked is Malaysia’s advantage as the
foremost authority on R&D in all aspects of NR. This technical advantage has
enabled Malaysian producers to accelerate productivity through the application of
new planting, exploitation, processing and manufacturing technologies.




Problems of the Rubber Industry
At present, the policies of the Malaysian Government are not as favourable to foreign investors as previously. The Government regulations, regarding benefits and wages to native workers, are more strict, and the taxes are higher. The rubber planters also face the problem of surplus production (it is because the huge areas are available for the rubber plantation), which results in lowered prices and profits. The abundant production of synthetic rubber in the U.S.A. and other countries has also given a great set back to marketing. The synthetic rubber, which is made from petroleum, coal, alcohol or other materials, is obtained at a very low cost of production. Another problem is the need to replace a large proportion of the trees, which are very old, with new ones of very high yield. The Government has laid a special tax on exported rubber, and the money, thus, raised is utilized for the cost of replanting trees. Because of all these hazards, the rubber planters are now converting the rubber estates to that of palm. But it does not mean that the rubber plantation system will discontinue. The synthetic rubber is excellent for certain purposes, but it is not yet as satisfactory as natural rubber for general purposes, such as tyres. As such, with an expanded role of the Government in the management of the rubber plantation, the production of rubber in Malaysia will undoubtedly continue, and, perhaps even increase in importance.














Conclusion
The rubber industry can no longer be viewed from the narrow perspective of a mere
supplier of raw rubber. Developments in the last decade give a clear indication of the
vast potentials for the industry when it is developed in a more integrated manner. The
competitiveness of the rubber industry should be examined as an integrated entity
spanning the entire industry from rubber cultivation to the downstream value-added
industries. Whilst rubber cultivation per se does not generate attractive returns to
investment, rubber products manufacturing and rubberwood industries offer lucrative
returns. The main competitive edge of Malaysia’s integrated rubber industry vis-a-vis
other producing countries is the comprehensive R&D and technical back-up as well as
the several incentives offered by the government to all sectors of the industry. This
has largely enhanced Malaysia’s productivity in terms of output per unit of land,
labour and capital.


          ACKNOWLEDGMENT:PROJECT DONE BY SACHIN