Price of rubber seedlings show downward trend

Fri 18 Jul 2008, IMNA
The price of rubber seedlings is showing a downward trend after most people started to graft seedling plants for their small private business, according to plantation owners.

Plantation owners and some businessmen had increased the quantity of rubber seedling plants produced a few year ago due to the high demand in Pegu, Irrawaddy, and Tenasserim Division.

According to Daw Tin from Youngdoung village Mudon Township, the current price for rubber seedling plant is about 300-400 Kyat while the previous price was 600 Kyat grafted from good quality.

"The market for rubber grafted seedlings is not good this year after the small home business flourished. Growing plants even in the small home business front registered good sales in the past year," said Daw Tin who planted about 10,000 rubber plants.

After the new cultivators came into the business for extra income, old customers rarely buy from the bigger nurseries.

PB 600 imported from Thailand and PB 260 and PB 235 from Malaysia cost about 600 Kyat in Mudon Township, owners said. The cost goes up to about 1,000 Kyat when it arrives in the plantation.

According to a Mudon resident, "there will be less uncultivated land for the customers didn't buy seedlings this year. Some cultivated for their plantations at last year's cost.

Last year, customers from Pegu, Irrawaddy, and Tenasserim Division bought the seedlings from Burmese government agriculture department and private markets in Mudon and Thanpyuzayart Township.

According to The New Light of Myanmar, the Burmese government regime plans to have over 0.4 million acres of rubber plantations in Mon State between 2007-2009.