As rubber prices fall, a dour Chinese New Year for some

Yong Koon Tai is seen here tapping rubber at a plantation that belongs to her and her husband, Liew Shi Xian, in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. The drop in the global price of rubber is affecting both rubber plantation workers and owners alike. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, February 19, 2015.On earnings of RM75 a day, how did Lan Siew and his wife prepare for Chinese New Year?

They did not. It is unlikely the rubber tapper from Jelebu, in Negri Sembilan, and his family will have meat for their celebrations, as they try to stretch every ringgit following the decline in commodity prices.

In his 50s, Lan Siew told The Malaysian Insider on a recent visit to Simpang Pertang in Jelebu, that he had been tapping rubber for more than 10 years but is now hit hard by the  massive drop in the global price of rubber to below RM2 per kg.

“With the help of my wife, we share a daily income of RM150 that is split between us and the plantation owners. This means we get only RM75, each of us having earned RM37 for the day," he said.

The income he earns from tapping rubber is based on the current price of RM1.90 per kg.

Lan Siew and his wife wake up at 5am daily, if it does not rain, and work until 10am tapping rubber in a plantation owned by his boss, who stays in a house that is just 300 metres from their own.

Being in a financial bind and unable to afford meat for this year's reunion dinner, Lan Siew said he hoped that his three children will be able to lift the family out of its economic distress.

“What choice do we have? What you earn is what you get. If you tapped more rubber on that particular day, then good. But if it is little, you have to deal with it.

“Sometimes, I have to borrow money from my friends. What am I to do? I’d rather not tell my children, I don’t want them to worry,” he added.

Lan Siew lives near the Pertang New Village, a neighbourhood of 300 people who are mostly rubber smallholders and have their own plots of up to three acres. Most of them are above the age of 40, as the younger adults have left to seek different careers in the cities.

Some of the smallholders interviewed said the rubber industry used to be very lucrative for them, especially in 2012, when rubber prices reached a high of RM6 per kg, and tappers could easily bag monthly incomes of up to RM10,000.

Lai Swee Moi (left) is a rubber wholesaler in Jelebu and says the drop in price is causing even foreign workers hired to tap rubber to leave for better paying jobs.– The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, February 19, 2015.However, today, even foreign workers who tap rubber are ditching the job for better prospects elsewhere, they said.

Lai Swee Moi, a rubber wholesaler, said some foreign workers quit the rubber industry because plantation owners underpaid them.

Even for her, she said, keeping a wholesale business alive was a struggle as she had to cushion herself from competition by six other retailers who operate in the nearby Kelawang district, also in Jelebu.

“Who wants to tap rubber nowadays? Young people have obviously left for cities to seek better jobs,” she said.

Then Kooi, a restaurant operator in Pertang who used to tap rubber 10 years ago, said he too, had found the work unprofitable.

“With prices floating between RM1 and RM2, carrying 10kg of rubber would only generate a maximum of RM20 in profit.

“Half goes to the plantation owners and the other half goes to you, which means you only get RM10. The reward is not worth the effort at all,” he said.

Some tappers have resorted to finding alternative sources of income, like Liow Ha Loo who plants vegetables for her family's own consumption as well as to sell in the local market.

“During the floods in the east coast last year, I was able to sell some of my vegetables due to the supply shortage in the market, and the profits made up 50% of my income," she said.

The older one gets, she said, the harder it becomes to tap rubber and this affected one's income. Other factors that contribute to unstable incomes include the age of the tree and geographic conditions of the plantation, she added.

“Usually, covering three acres of land can yield about 50kg to 60kg of rubber. I covered 11 acres today and got 200kg, Liow said, adding that she had started work at 3am that day.

Chinese New Year festivities for Liow, however, will be brighter than it is for Lan Siew's family.

Liow's children, who have contributed to the family's budget for the celebrations, will be returning home from their jobs elsewhere, and will be buying the lantern, snacks and other traditional Chinese delicacies, she said.

From a plantation owner's perspective, however, Putrajaya can play a role in helping buffer rubber tappers from economic hardship, by intervening in the local price of rubber.

Plantation bosses also struggle to stay afloat, said Chan Hok Chun who owns a plantation in Kelewang. He noted that rubber prices in Thailand were set at between RM3 to RM4 per kg.

“The price of rubber fluctuates so rapidly, sometimes going up by 10 sen and then dropping by 30 sen again in just a day or two.

“Just look at the price of rubber now. I would be happy to earn RM1,000 every month looking at the current state," Chan said.

National news agency Bernama reported on February 5 that Malaysia will host a meeting of ministers from rubber-producing countries this May.

The meeting is to develop strategies to stabilise the commodity's price in the global market, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas was reported as saying.

Malaysia hopes to collaborate with Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia in maintaining rubber prices at a reasonable level, he had said.Rubber wholesaler Lai Swee Moi sorting the rubber collection for the day at her operations in Jelebu, Negri Sembilan. She says life is tough as she also faces competition from six other wholesalers within Jelebu. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, February 19, 2015.

- TMI