Promotion of Rubberwood Processing Technology in the

Asia-Pacific Region

Proceedings of the

ITTO/CFC International Rubberwood Workshop

December 8-10, 2008

Haikou, CHINA

Editor ZHAO Youke

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Rubberwood Utilization in China ...................................................... 1

1. THE RUBBER TREE PLANTING AND RUBBERWOOD RESOURCES ................ 1 1.1 The geographical distribution of rubber plants in China...................................... 2 1.2 The area of rubber plants ....................................................................................... 2 1.3 Rubberwood logging............................................................................................... 2

2. THE INFLUENCE AND STATUS OF WOOD SUPPLY............................................. 3 2.1 The influence and situation of natural rubber price ............................................. 3 2.2 The influence and status of the timber market ...................................................... 4 2.2.1 Wood demand....................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 The trend of wood importation ............................................................................ 5 2.2.3 The fluctuation of wood price ............................................................................. 6

3. THE STATUS OF RUBBERWOOD UTILIZATION ................................................... 6 3.1 The processing and the usage of rubberwood sawntimber.................................... 7 3.2 Sale of rubberwood sawntimber............................................................................. 7

4. STRATEGIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF RUBBERWOOD INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT.............................................................................................................. 8

REFERENCE .................................................................................................................... 9

Promotion of Rubberwood Processing Technology in Cambodia.......11

I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 11

II. FOREST RESOURCES AND CHALLENGES RELATED TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS .............................................................................................................. 12

III. RUBBER PLANTATION AND RUBBERWOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY.............................................................................................................. 13

IV. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE WAY FORWARD........................................ 14

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 15

Status of Rubber Wood Processing and Utilization in India: A Country Report ....................................................................................................... 17

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 18

PRODUCTION POTENTIAL ........................................................................................ 19

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Global scenario........................................................................................................... 19 Indian scenario........................................................................................................... 20

COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION .................................................................................... 21

PRICE TREND ............................................................................................................... 22

CURRENT SITUATION................................................................................................. 23

PROCESSING................................................................................................................. 24

PRIMARY PROCESSING.............................................................................................. 24 Preservative treatment of rubber wood – State of art in the country ........................ 25 Secondary processing ................................................................................................. 29

THE KERALA CONTEXT............................................................................................. 30

R & D AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES................................................................... 31

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS ............................................... 31

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 33

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................. 33

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 35

Current Status of Plantation Forest Development and Its Utilization in Indonesia .................................................................................................. 39

I INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 39

II CURRENT POTENCY........................................................................................... 40

III CURRENT UTILIZATION .................................................................................... 41

IV STATUS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT........................................... 43

V POLICY DEVELOPMENT.................................................................................... 44

VI CONCLUSION................................................................................................... 46

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 47

Forest Plantation Development in Malaysia with Special Reference nn Rubber Plantation – An Overview+ ........................................................ 49

1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 50

2.0 FOREST RESOURCE AREA ............................................................................ 50

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3.0 FOREST PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT...................................................... 51

4.0 RUBBER PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT..................................................... 53 4.1 Rubberwood as Forest Plantation Species .................................................... 54 4.2 Products from rubber wood ........................................................................... 56

5.0 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES......................................................................... 57

6.0 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES........................................................................... 59

7.0 STRATEGIES FOR THE WAY FORWARD ...................................................... 60 7.1 Enhancement of Sound Policy and Legislation in Promoting the Development of Forest Plantation ............................................................................. 60 7.2 Providing Attractive Incentives to Further Encourage the Participation of Private Sector.............................................................................................................. 61 7.3 Intensify Effective Research and Development ............................................ 62 7.4 Harnessing the Carbon Sequestration Potentials in Forest Plantation Development ............................................................................................................... 63

8.0 CONCLUSION................................................................................................. 63

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 64

Forestry Department Sabah. 2007. Annual Report 2007. 148pp. ......... 64

Information on Situation of MyanmarTeak, Hardwood & Rubber Plantation in Brief .................................................................................... 65

1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 65

2. CONSERVING FOREST RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT............................... 66

3. FOREST POLICY (1995 ).................................................................................. 66

4. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE............................................................................ 67

5. FOREST COVER AREA OF MYANMAR.................................................. 67

6. SPECIAL TEAK PLANTATION PROGRAMMER ( STPP ) ............ 68

7. COMMUNITY FORESTRY INSTRUCTIONS ..................................................... 68

8. PRIVATE TEAK PLANTATION POLICY.................................................... 68

9. PROCEDURE FOR PRIVATE TEAK & HARDWOOD PLANTATION.............. 69

10. EXPENDITURES............................................................................................... 69

11. TURN OVER OF TEAK PLANTATION........................................................... 69

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12. EXPENDITURES ( ONE ACRE ) TABLE ( 1 )........................................ 70

13. TIMBER OUTCOME FROM TEAK PLANTATION TABLE (2).................. 70

14. INVESTMENT RETURN FROM TEAK PLANTATION ................................. 71

15 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 71

16. SITUATION OF WOOD BASED INDUSTRY IN MYANMAR....................... 71

17. MYANMAR TIMBER EXPORT & SALE SITUATION ( 2003 - 2008 ) 72

18. POTENTIAL SUPPLY & DOMESTIC DEMAND PROJECTION FOR TEAK ........... 73

19. POTENTIAL SUPPLY AND DOMESTIC DEMAND PROJECTION FOR OTHER HARDWOODS AND PIN ................................................................................ 74

20. SOME FACTS FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF MYANMAR.............................................................................................. 75

21. RUBBER AREA OF MYANMAR ..................................................................... 76

22. FUTURE SITUATION OF RUBBER WOOD INDUSTRY .............................. 76

Rubber Plantation in Nepal ..................................................................... 77

1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 77

2 METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................. 78

3 SITUATION OF RUBBER PLANTATION............................................................ 78

4 AREA UNDER CULTIVATION AND YIELD PER HECTARE ........................... 79

5 RESOURCES, PROCESSING, PRODUCTS, UTILIZATION .............................. 81

6 OBSTACLES TO INCREASED RUBBERWOOD UTILIZATION COMPRISE: 82

7 POLICIES OF THE GOVERNMENT.................................................................... 82

Status of Rubberwood Processing and Utilization in the Philippines 83

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 83

II. DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY........................................................................ 84

III. POTENTIAL VALUE OF AVAILABLE SUPPLY............................................. 85

IV. BASIC PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS .......................................... 85

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V. TECHNOLOGICAL AND WORKING PROPERTIES OF RUBBERWOOD....... 87

VI. UTILIZATION OF RUBBERWOOD....................................................................... 94

VII. CONSTRAINTS IN THE UTILIZATION OF RUBBERWOOD ........................... 95

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................. 95

REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 97

The Utilization of Rubber Wood in Thailand.......................................... 99

1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 99 1.1Forest sector enrollment........................................................................................ 99 1.2 Public and Private Engagement......................................................................... 100

2. PROCESSING, UTILIZATION & PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT ........................ 101 2.1 Primary processing ............................................................................................. 101 2.2 Secondary processing ......................................................................................... 103

3. MARKETS FOR PLANTATION TIMBER PRODUCTS ........................................ 104 3.1 Previews .............................................................................................................. 104 3.2 Wood marketing ................................................................................................. 105

4. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS........................................................................ 105

Machining and Coating Properties of Plantation Rubberwood in China107

1. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................... 108 1.1 Materials and methods ....................................................................................... 108 1.2 Equipment and parameter.................................................................................. 109

2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................................................... 110 2.1 Machining properties ......................................................................................... 110 2.2 Coating properties .............................................................................................. 113 2.3 Machining properties and evaluation of coating quality .................................. 114

9 GENERAL CONCLUSION....................................................................................... 114

REFERENCE ................................................................................................................ 115

Rubberwood preservation by friendly preservatives ..........................117

1 RUBBERWOOD DEGRADATION .......................................................................... 117 1.1 Insects ................................................................................................................. 118 1.2 Stain and mold fungi .......................................................................................... 118

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2 TREATING METHOD FOR RUBBBERWOOD ...................................................... 118 2.1 Fungicides and insecticides for the temporary protection ................................ 118 2.2 Long-term protection, preservatives and treating schedule .............................. 119

1. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS................................................................................. 120 1.1 Fungal species and their characteristic ............................................................. 120 1.2 Fungicidal formulations for stain control ......................................................... 120 1.3 Method for stain control..................................................................................... 121

2. RESULTS .................................................................................................................. 122

3. CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................... 122

REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 126

1 MATERIALS AND METHOD .................................................................................. 126 1.1 Materials ............................................................................................................. 126 1.2 Preservatives ....................................................................................................... 126 1.3 Test sites .............................................................................................................. 126 1.4 Treating procedure ............................................................................................. 127

2 RESULTS ................................................................................................................... 128

3 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 128

Drying Technique of Improved-Preservative Treated Rubberwood.. 129

1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 129

2 TEST METHOD......................................................................................................... 130 2.1 Test material ................................................................................................. 130 2.2 Drying characteristics test ........................................................................... 130 2.3 Rubberwood drying schedule test....................................................................... 132

3. DRYING SCHEDULE TESTING RESULTS ANALYSIS....................................... 134 3.1 Drying quality ..................................................................................................... 134 3.2 Deformation........................................................................................................ 136 3.3 Drying speed ....................................................................................................... 136 3.4 Rubberwood color after drying........................................................................... 137 3.5 Drying costing..................................................................................................... 137

4 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 138

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The Rubberwood Utilization in China Zhang Yisheng Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China E-mail:zys@caf.ac.cn Gao Ruiqing Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China E-mail:ray@caf.ac.cn Zhao Youke Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China E-mail:youke.zhao@caf.ac.cn Feng Shanghuan Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China J. Ratnasingam Forestry University Putra Malaysia , Lu Jianxiong Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China E-mail:jianxiong@caf.ac.cn Ye Kelin Research Institue of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China E-mail:yekelin@caf.ac.cn

Natural rubber is one of the most important commodities in the world, and the world’s natural rubber industry has been transformed significantly over the years, while its market has become more open, with a greater degree of internationalization. The world natural rubber production capacity is increasing remarkably, and the plantation area and yield of rubber are fluctuated with the change of natural rubber price. Consequently the production of rubberwood, as the other kind of rubber tree production, was fluctuated accordingly. How to increase the contribution of the rubberwood industry to the national economy through more efficient utilization, and how to upgrade the competitiveness of rubberwood products compared with other tropical wood by means of technical guidelines and demonstration, are the key points for a sustainable development of rubberwood industry. To realize such a sustainable development, this paper will focus on the Rubberwood sawn timber industry in China, especially in relation to its market and development issues..

1. THE RUBBER TREE PLANTING AND RUBBERWOOD RESOURCES

Generally rubber tree is just suitable to be planted between 10 degrees southern latitude and 15 degrees northern latitude in the tropical region, including Asia, Africa and Latin America. The total rubber planting area is more than 9,000,000 ha in the world, and more than 90% of which is in Asia, mainly including Thailand, Indonesia

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and Malaysia. The other Asian countries with rubber plantation includes India, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Burma and Cambodia.

1.1 The geographical distribution of rubber plants in China

China has a successful precedent to plant rubber trees in the area of northern latitude 18-24 degrees, which is out of the tradition plantation area. Through developing rubber planting in high degree of latitude region, China becomes one of the main nature rubber producers in the world. The rubber plantations are mainly located in Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian etc., and the total rubber plantation area is about 776,000 ha. (Table 1), in which Hainan province is about 402,000 ha and Yunnan Province is about 334,000 ha. The total natural rubber yield in 2006 is 537,000 dry ton, which makes China to be one of five biggest rubber production countries. The crude rubber yield of the Hainan and Yunnan covers about 46.01% and 49.11% of the national total yield respectively. Yunnan province produces 150 kg/a per Mu (one Mu is 666m2, or 1/15 ha,) dry crude rubber, which is in the leading level of the world. The Xishuangbanna region is the main rubber production area in Yunnan province. The resource of rubberwood from renewed rubber plantation is also mainly from Hainan and Yunnan provinces. The quality of rubberwood from eastern and southern parts of Hainan is not as good as that in Yunnan Province because of more occurrence of typhoon in Hainna. For example, the height and diameter of rubber tree in Hainan province are less than that in Yunnan province. Both the yield of crude rubber and rubber log in Yunnan are about as twice as that in Hainan province.

1.2 The area of rubber plants

Currently the annual consumption of crude rubber in China is more than 2,000,000 ton, in which about 550,000 ton is produced in China, and more than 70% of the total demand relies on import. It is estimated that in the incoming 5-10 years the yearly demand of crude rubber will be increased by 5-8%. However, the increasing potential in crude rubber production in China will be very limited. According to the report by Mrs Zhu Xiuyan, the Chinese natural rubber association president, only 1,000,000 ha, which is less than 5% of the national territory area, is suitable for rubber tree planting. Moreover, as a result of the weather condition and limited soil resource, the potential of rubber yield increasing resulting from enlarging plant area is very limited in China.

1.3 Rubberwood logging

The rubber harvest season is from March 25th to December 25th every year in Hainan province, and from April to November 25th in Yunnan province. The state-owned rubber trees to be cut for renewal is usually 25-30 years after the rubber’s first harvesting, and that for the private rubber trees is only 15-20 years because of the bad

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cutting technique and poor management. Since the growth period of rubber tree lasts many years, the supply ability of the crude rubber yield and rubberwood yield is hard to be enlarged in a short time. Generally the average proportion of renewed rubber trees is 1.5-2% each year, the maximum of that is 10%. The volume of felled rubber trees for renew with diameter more than 5 cm in Hainan province is 4-5 m3 per mu and that in Yunnan province is 10-12 m3 .per mu. So the total rubberwood log yield per mu is from 75 to 180 m3 based on different planting sites. Suppose a 20 years of renewal period, the total annual rubber wood yield in China is 800,000 m3-1,900,000 m3. Generally the annual rubber wood yield in China is about 1,000,000 m3, while the annual rubber wood yield is about 800,000 m3 in recent years due to the high price of the crude rubber and the extension of rubber tree renewal period.

Table 1 the rubber plant area and crude rubber yield in 2006 in China

Item Unit Total FujianGuangdongGuangxi Hainan Yunnan The rubber plant area 103×ha. 776.2 0.1 35.4 4.4 402.2 334.1 In which, newly

planted 103×ha. 57.6 1.7 21.4 34.5

In which, available for latex harvest 103×ha. 477 0.1 29.2 3 291.4 153.3

Output（Dry crude rubber）

Ton 537,983.0 32 25,395.0 813247,505.0264,238.0

Source from: China agriculture yearbook

2. THE INFLUENCE AND STATUS OF WOOD SUPPLY

The factors influencing rubber wood supply are: 1) the renewal quantity of the old rubber trees, 2) the renewal quantity of existing rubber trees for new rubber species and new introduced forest management technique, 3) the cutting amount of rubber trees due to typhoon, insects attack and freeze harm, 4) the influence of heavy rain in harvest season on the cutting and transportation of rubberwood trees The other related factors that influence the rubber wood supply include the change of crude rubber price and the change of wood market condition.

2.1 The influence and situation of natural rubber price

The factors that influence the crude rubber price are as follows:

2.1.1 The supply of crude rubber in international market and the exportation condition of main rubber producing countries

2.1.2 The international market trading condition

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2.1.3The agreement by International Nature Rubber Organization (INRO) members.

2.1.4 The production and consumption of natural rubber in China.

2.1.5 The importation policies of natural rubber in China.

2.1.6 The production and the application status of the synthesized rubber, including the market status of crude oil which has closed relationship with synthesized rubber

2.1.7 The development status of the main rubber application industry, such as the tire and automobile industry

2.1.8 The season change, the climate change and other substitutes of agriculture crops

2.1.9 Political factors: The fluctuation of the policy and political situation

Currently the main influence factor is market demand. In the past 20 years, the automobile industry in China and Thailand has been developing rapidly, whick resulted in a big natural rubber demand and therefore an ever increase of the international rubber price. Driven by the high profits, the Chinese rubber plantation area enlarges quickly. The increasing trend is showed in Fig1 (The rubber planting and harvest area in 2000-2006 in China). Among these 7 years, the average annual increasing rate of new rubber tree planting area is 33.5%, and the average annual increasing rate of plant area for latex harvesting is 1.89%. In the meantime, some aged rubber trees which should be renewed are still serving for rubber harvesting because of their quicker and higher profit, as a result, the rubberwood logging is postponed. These cause the decreasing of rubber wood yield in the long term.

2.2 The influence and status of the timber market 2.2.1 Wood demand

China is a big country for sawntimber production and consumption, while the forest (timber) resources per capita is quite small. Since 1998, wood from the natural forest reduces gradually because of the Natural Forest Protection Policy. However China has a large population, the demand of wood for infrastructure and related trade is very huge. Therefore, the gap between wood demand and supply is becoming bigger and bigger. The annual wood demand is estimated to be 300,000,000--330,000,000 m3. The domestic timber gap between wood demand and supply will reach to more than 160,000,000 m3 if the log harvest is strictly according to the state quota plan. Based on the annual analysis of forest consumption data, the biggest annual supply ability of domestic timber is 230,000,000 m3 (suppose a over harvest of 120,000,000 m3 above the plan), so the gap is at least 70,000,000--100,000,000 m3 each year. It is estimated

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that in 2015, the total wood demand will be 460,000,000 m3 and the gap will be 170,000,000 m3. Now in China, the main method to shorten this gap is to import wood. The annual wood demand in China increases by 1.5% every year. In this situation, it will be helpful to make full use of rubber wood to minimize the gap between wood demand and supply in China.

Fig1 The rubber plant and harvest area in 2000-2006 in China

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100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year

1000×ha.

Total rubberplant area

Area increasedthis year

Areaavailabelforlatex

2.2.2 The trend of wood importation

Nowaday, more and more attention has been paid on the development of local industry and environment protection by the government, therefore, more and more strict trade protective policies have been made, which has a great influence on the supply channel of China’s wood. The fact is, Malaysian and Indonisian governments have made a policy to ban the export of all rubberwood and rattan primary products to promote domestic furniture industry development. The rubberwood in China is mainly from Thailand and Cambodia. Meanwhile the economic development ministry of Russia has also approved a draft on increasing the log exportation tax from 25% to 80% in 2009, which was 6.5% in 2006. This will cause a great influence on the Chinese furniture industries since 70% of raw material in China comes from Russia now. As a result, some furniture companies begin to use more and more particle boards and bamboo rather than wood. Meanwhile, North American wood market is greatly influence by the American financial crisis. In this situation, more and more woods are

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imported from Canada. China would feel more political and environmental stress when the wood supply is heavily depend on the import. In this case, to use more plantation wood resource and wood based materials will be a good complementary way. All above indicated that the rubberwood market has a big potential in the future.

2.2.3 The fluctuation of wood price

The fluctuation of wood price directly influences the tropical wood production and management. Currently the exchange rate of US dollars keeps going down, the timber price in north America goes down. The price of timber from Africa also decreases because of the descreament of total demand from Europe and China. The price of Southeast Asian timber increases by 10% due to the rise in oil and corps price. The timber imported from Russia decreases by 30% because of Russian new high tax policy, therefore, the wood sales in Northeast China goes down. In the meantime, due to the decrease of furniture export, wood demand for furniture decreases. As a result, the final price of wood has somewhat decreased. Compared with other imported wood which has the simillar usage, the rubberwood is lower in price, and is becoming more and more popular. The price increased by about 100 yuan/m3 compared with that in last year. Now the price of rubberwood timber is 1430-2400yuan/m3, the price of Thailand-imported rubberwood timber is 2800-3300yuan/m3.

3. THE STATUS OF RUBBERWOOD UTILIZATION

The research on rubberwood economic value began in 1950's. The rubberwood is named as "the ivory wood", its uniform color , beautiful wood grain, medium density (about 0.6 gs/cm3) , homogeneous texture, good mechanical processing properties and good size stability makes it to be a high-quality raw material that can be used for furniture, veneer for decoration, as well as wood based panel.

The utilization of rubberwood as a sawntimber subjects to the preservative treatment. The little size logs or branches are used for particleboard, plywood and medium density fiberboard. Different specification and grade of the preservative sawntimber can be acoordingly used for furniture, finger-joint glue lumber, blockboard, wood modeling, decorated veneer and handicraft product etc. The preservative treatment is a key technique for a the utilization of the rubberwood as a sawntimer. In China the annual rubberwood output value reaches to 2,000,000,000 yuan, annually 1,000,000 m3 rubber timber is transformed from discard to treasure, which not only leads to "alternative" protective effect to nature forest in tropical region but also makes profit of rubber plantation.

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3.1 The processing and the usage of rubberwood sawntimber

Because of the shortage of the timber resources, branches and small size logs (dia.5-20 cm) which are ocassionaly used as plywood or timber materials are fully utilized in China as veneer for plywood or furniture materials. .The rubberwoods are usually cut into a board in live saw with only a specific thickness, but are seldom to be cut with a specific width or length, which depends only on the size of the log. The board used for furniture is specified by such thickeness value as 3.5/4.5/5.5/6.5/7.5cm while the length is generally between 1-2.2m, the width is not specified. The price of the board could be as higher of 1.8 times which depends on its size. Short boards are usually finger jointed or to be made into blockboard and furniture small parts. Some related department is drafting standards for rubberwood sawntimber.

Large sawing equipment is not suitable for rubber wood due to its small diameter and bend shap. Since the low labor cost in China, the rubberwood processing is a kind of high labor intensive processing. The environment-friendly preservative treatment is widely used in in big and medium-sized factories currently, and the furnace-type hot air drying is used instead of normal kiln drying.. The residuals and most sawdust are main used as furnace fuel , and sometimes the sawdust is used for mushrooms cultivation . The non-dimension sawntimber (the width and length is not in specified size) can well utilize rubber wood of different size, and therefore, is the main product type of sawntimber. The recovery rate is about 60%..The imported rubberwood in China market are mainly dimmension timber, which is 37% higher in price than domestic rubberwood timber..

3.2 Sale of rubberwood sawntimber

The non-dimmension rubberwood sawntimber is packed and classified by the thickness rather than its length and size. The trade of rubberwood tibmer is by the weight of wood, like the trade of redwood in China.. The quality of rubberwood log in Yunnan province is thought to has a better quality than that from Hainan, and therefore, rthe price is 50-100 yuan/m3 higher than thar from Hainan province’s. The domestic rubberwood sawntimber mainly comes from the Hainan and Yunnan, and the transport cost is high. It costs about 130 yuans/m3 for the transport from Hainan, to the Zhujiang River and 300 Yuans/m3 from Yunnan, and the transportation from Yunnan to triangle region in Yangtze River costs 400 yuans/m3. Sawntimber transport cost takes up a very big proportion in the price of Yunnan rubberwood. Half of Yunnan rubberwood sawntimber is being second processed before the transportation to the consumption regeion, Hainan sawntimber is mainly exported. Customers can get sawntimber by two ways: one is to wholesell or retail in trade market, the other is directly from factory.

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3.3 Rubberwood sawntimber for value-added products

The proportion of board with width above 15 cm and thickness above 7.5 cm is small due to the small diameter of rubber wood. The length of the board is usually below 2.2 m. Much smaller branches or log is used for furniture pillars. Due to the great difference in rubberwood diameter, the processing waste and branch is usually processed into small size board, then bleached by heat water, and finally finger-jointed into large timber whose price is 1800-4500 yuan/m3, which added 1.5-4 times value after the processing. Other value-added methods includes producing small-scaled woody ware, such as handicraft, toy, cutlery. One more value-added method is to slice finger-joint timer into veneers (thickness 0.3-0.5 mm, and the price is 4-5 yuan/m2), which added value by 2 times.

4. STRATEGIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF RUBBERWOOD INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Rational allocation of resources to ensure sustainable supply of rubber wood. The rubber plant is mainly for producing rubber, it should be integrated managed considering the integrated profits of forest output, rubber tree species, trees planting and cutting programming. Besides the yield of latex, the yield and quality of rubberwood should also be considered

4.2 The management and processing techniques.should be strengthened, and the different processing scales should be supported. The processing scale depends on collection and supply ways of rubberwood log. Currently the rubberwood processing technology is not good in China, technique support is essential for a better processing. For some places, more efficient and larger-scale manufacture is encouraged to be be established. In this way, the rubberwood could be used in more efficient and environment-friendly way.

4.3 Promoting the production of dimension timber.. To produce the dimension tibmer or non-dimension timber is depending on the processing technique and rubberwood supply quality in different factories. To produce more dimension timber is encouraged since it usually menas a good quality and more added value.

4.4 The improvement in rubberwood preservative treatment techniques and sawntimber quality. The rubberwood is easyly decayed and moulded. Exposed in the open air, the green log with bark will be decayed in 1-2 months, the timber will be moulded in 7-10days. Therefore, if the rubberwood can not be processed in time, it

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must be treated by preservative. Presently the timber color will be dark after the treatment, which degrades the quality of the timber. In addition, the application of preservative treated wood is restricted due to the safety reason. All these needs technique improvement in preserve treatment and drying.

4.5 Encouraging intensive processing instead of preliminary processing for more added value. Application of rubberwood in the new fields should be explored. For example, after adequate treatment, the rubberwood might be used as a high quality packing material for international trade.

4.6 Regulaiton, rules or standard of rubberwood products should be made. Nowadays, The rubberwood trades are carried out only under the agreement of both side. There is no related standard on the specification, color, preservatives etc. Such standard should be made soon to promote the development of rubberwood industry and to facilitate the management of the rubberwood market.

REFERENCE

Song Chen.The exploitation present condition of rubber wood in world. The forestry science and technology communication, 1988.3 P38 ～ 39s

Futures trading post crude rubber futures contract in Shanghai trades an operation a manual

Xu Meiqi.The rubber wood exploitation foreground in the Chinese wood quality furniture. The market report, in 1999 April 13th version No.6

Over 70% depend to import, can Chinese rubber's breaking through siege the sea south have conduct and actions? 2007-12-2010:31:21 source from: Sea south newspaper

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Promotion of Rubberwood Processing Technology in

Cambodia

Chann Sophal Forest & Wildlife Science Research Institute, Forestry Administration, #40 Norodom Boulevard, Phnom Penh - Cambodia

I. INTRODUCTION

The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) through the Forest Administration (FA) has been consistently promoting its national forest policies geared towards conservation and sustainable management of forest resources to achieve a maximum contribution by reducing, if not totally eliminating, poverty incidence and thereby propel the socio-economic development of the country. Within the context of conservation and sustainable forest management (SFM) initiatives, a maximum involvement of the private sector and participation of the local communities is one of the major thrusts of the government, which is always being prioritized and emphasized towards attainment of food security, poverty reduction and spur socio-economic development activities.

The current socio-economic and demographic parameters of RGC are shown below (Ty Sokhun, 2008):

Total area of Cambodia is about 181,035 Sq. Km. or 18.1 Million hectares There are 24 provinces and cities, 185 districts, 1,621 communes, and 14,073

villages Total population is 13,388,910 (General Population Census of Cambodia

2008) Population density is 75 people per sq. km. Annual population growth rate 1.54% Total forest areas 10,730,781 ha (59%) in 2006, broken down below:

a. Protection Forests 4,534,032 ha = 25% -Protected areas 3,100,000 ha = 17 % -Protected Forests 1,434,032 ha = 8 %

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b. Production Forests: 6,196,749 ha = 34% -Forest Concessions : 3,068,888 ha = 17% -Community Forestry : 309,354 ha =2% -Other forests unclassified: 1,919, 225 ha = 10% -Economic Land Concessions: 899,282 ha =5 %

II. FOREST RESOURCES AND CHALLENGES RELATED TO RUBBER PLANTATIONS

Since early 1960s to 1980s, the government has been in the forefront of local community involvement through participatory process in rehabilitating and re-vegetating large tract of forestlands to bring back its forest cover. One of the strategies in forest restoration is the establishment of rubber plantations in partnership with the private sector and local people, such as the Chhub Rubber Plantation at Tumring Commune, Sandan District, Kampong Thom Province covering 6,200 hectares, which has been expanded into other towns and provinces, and generated foreign exchange and employment for ten of thousands of local forest and agricultural workers. This is crucial not only in terms of improving the private sector economic standing, but also in rehabilitating and restoring the ecological balance in the region (Lang Hokleng, 2008).

In recent forestry reform law, the RGC’s forestry policy is to ensure sustainable forestry management and the use of forests to improve the livelihoods of people living in rural areas and to contribute to economic growth. The RGC has imposed logging ban since 2002, and established protected/conservation areas by more than 25% of total country area, undertaken tree planting & forestation, conduct forest demarcation, develop community forestry, and taken strict measures to prevent and eradicate illegal activities in logging, poaching and forestland clearing, and undertake continuous public awareness education and advocacy activities.

Since forest is crucial for the livelihoods of the people, the RGC will enhance management efficiency of the development, including eco-tourism activities, for generation of local employment and additional income for the local people and private sector. The RGC also mobilizes resources, provide support and financing to participate in global efforts to address challenges in reducing emission through reforestation and rehabilitation of degraded forestlands (Ty Sokhun, 2008)

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In view of current forest policies of the government, it is expected to grow rubber trees in about 400,000 hectares between 2008 until 2030, with an annual plantation of 10,000 hectares throughout the country (Director Ly Pholla, 2008), citing the progress of rubber tree cultivation in private land and household settings initiated by Chhub Rubber Plantation Company in Kampong Thom. Likewise, in Preah Vihear Province, about 200,000 hectares are envisioned over the next years with available potential investors and available land for growing rubber trees, as shown in production forest data above.

The Asian Region is currently the main source and consumer of natural rubber, called rubber latex, with the largest producers located in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, though Vietnam has seen increased production as well. It has been observed that rubber tree cultivation is now increasing across the nation, and with the current policies of the government promoting this strategy and the available land resources, Cambodia is likely to expand rubber tree growing and become a rubber latex producer in the near future.

III. RUBBER PLANTATION AND RUBBERWOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

It is clear that planting rubber trees has widespread benefits to the people and the surrounding environment, as discussed earlier. The rubber-based agro-forestry involves a complex and diverse cropping system (or multi-cropping) that combines the growing of rubber and other agricultural crops in the area in a sustainable manner. Although, the common management system of rubber plantations is to produce the latex, and therefore they are planted with a spacing of 3m by 6m (or 555 trees per hectare). The tapping activities commence at 5 to 7 years for natural latex, with 3 days tapping in a week (Khun Kakada, et.al., 2008)

In 2007, to promote the planting of rubber trees, the government decided to grant the concession of about 250,000 hectares of land for cities and provinces to grow them. Currently, Cambodia has a total rubber crop of nearly 70,000 hectares, which yields about 40,000 to 50,000 tons of dry resin per year. Rubber resin currently costs about US$2,600 per ton (Lang Hokleng, 2008)

According to studies and observations, the rubber trees start declining its production of natural latex at the age of 25 to 30 years after planting, and therefore to re-plant/reforest the areas again. In the meantime, there is a need to commercially utilize the old trees or “senile” rubber trees by converting them into its by-products,

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such as wood furniture and fixtures. Of the rubberwood, around sixty-one (61) by-products were reported to be made, with attractive colors and easy workable designs, commanding a high-competitive price.

It is, therefore, of great interest for the government to promote the processing technology for rubberwood as an alternative source of wood raw materials for production since the 2002 harvesting ban in production forest areas in the country.

IV. RECOMMENDATION FOR THE WAY FORWARD

The focus of forest management has shifted from exploitation to multiple uses from timber production to conservation. Sustainable management of forest resources increasingly needs to integrate bio-diversity conservation, watershed protection and the increasing demands of society and of communities from local to global levels, especially in terms of rubberwood plantations and its commercial latex and wood utilization.

It is also imperative to continue supporting the implementation of the five (5) main objectives within the national forestry goals/objectives of RGC regarding its forest resources, including rubber tree plantations and its by-products (Ty Sokhun, 2008), such as:

• Conservation and sustainable management of forest resources to achieve a maximum contribution to poverty reduction and socio-economic development of the country, as well as climate change mitigation;

• The remaining forest resources of the country shall be considered as Permanent Forest Estate and managed in a sustainable way;

• Within the context of conservation and sustainable forest management initiatives, a maximum involvement of the private sector and participation of the local population shall be achieved in order to ensure food security, poverty reduction and socio-economic development;

• A wide range of coordinated multi-stakeholder processes shall be implemented to enable the harmonization of the different perceptions, interests and objectives of the various forest interest groups at all levels; and

15

• To continue to support forestation/restoration of arable land and to protect those existing commercial trees and plantations for the development of forest resources.

REFERENCES

Khun, Kakada, Nobuya Mizoue, Pheng Muthavy, Lim Khantiva, Koichiro Gyokusen, Shinya Koga, Akira Shigematsu, Yin Song and Shigejiro Yoshida. 2008. Multiple Function of Rubber Plantation As Forest and Wood Resources. Asia Forest Workshop 2008 held at Phnom Penh Hotel, Cambodia on November 20-21, 2008.17 pp.

Lang Hokleng, 2008. Cambodia expects to grow rubber trees on 400,000 hectares of land by 2030. http:/www.cambodiantown. com/newslwelve .htm.

Ty Sokhun, 2008. Forest Management and Environment in Cambodia. Paper presented at the Asia Forest Workshop 2008 held at Phnom Penh Hotel, Cambodia on November 20-21, 2008.17 pp.

17

Status of Rubber Wood Processing and Utilization in

India: A Country Report

T. K. Dhamodaran Scientist (Wood Science and Technology), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi – 680 653, Kerala, India, E-mail:tkd@kfri.org

Abstract: With a current area of 5, 83,000 hectares, under rubber plantations, India stands fourth in the world in the production of rubber wood, out of which 87 per cent is from small holdings. With an average of about 250 trees per hectare in the final felling stage, the average timber yield per tree from the Indian plantations is estimated to be around 0.65 m3, out of which 40 per cent goes to branch wood. The present availability of rubber wood in the country is estimated to be 1.6 million cubic metres per year. With an annual requirement of 40 million cubic metres of timber against a domestic availability of 29.25 million cubic metres, rubber wood had the potential to offer around 2 per cent of the country’s timber requirement, so as to save a foreign exchange in the tune of US $ 200 million per year and generation of direct employment in the order of 2, 00,000 coupled with the environmental benefit of saving 20,000 hectares of the rain forests of the country on an annual basis. About 33 per cent of the total stem wood is found available in the country for secondary processing whereas the existing industries in the country consume only about one-tenth of the available raw material. The major share of rubber wood is being utilized in the country for the manufacture of less value added products like packing cases (45%), followed by plywood industry (29%), safety matches and others (5%); the share of treated wood sector for secondary processing for the manufacture of value-added finished products is only 21 per cent. Therefore, it is essential to streamline the policies required for maximum value-added utilization of this precious non-conventional timber resource.

The present price of logs per tonne is around Rs. 3, 400/- ; sawn timber costs about Rs. 475/- per cubic feet. The price of logs is found slowly increasing whereas the price of sawn timber remains more or less stable during the last three years. The present figure for the per tree (with an average weight of 0.5 tonne) price is around Rs. 1250/-; the highest in the track record. Due to the present high price of sheet rubber (Rs. 130/- per kg) there exists a general unwillingness among farmers in the small holdings sector to fell trees. This created a peculiar disadvantage of shortage of timber coupled with high

18

price compared with its counterparts in the rubber wood rich south-east Asian countries. Increasing influence of middle men like logging contractors, brokers, etc. over the primary market leading to imperfections and inability of secondary processing units to control the price and quality of raw materials. Absence of well organized panel products industries for consuming small dimension logs and sawmill wastes is another lacuna in the Indian rubber wood sector.

The state of art of rubber wood processing and utilization technology in the country is briefly reviewed in the paper.

Strengthening of promotional agencies in terms of research and development facilities and statutory powers for market interactions, developing panel products industry base, and formulation of long term plan for ensuring sustained growth of the industry is suggested for the building up of the Indian rubber wood industry competitive to the international level in the long run.

INTRODUCTION

Rubber wood is emerged as one of the alternative eco-friendly plantation timber in India since 1980s. Earlier, timber from rubber trees in the country is used for domestic and industrial firewood as well as for low cost packing cases where high durability is not required. Later, when availability of traditional timbers for general purposes, especially for thick packing cases, pallets, furniture, plywood, panel boards and re-constituted board products become a serious issue due to shortage of timber and escalation of prices, the idea of utilizing rubber wood for the above purposes got mooted in the country. The ‘perishable’ nature of the timber due to its low durability posed problems in its utilization. The timber from rubber tree is found highly susceptible to attack from sap staining and decay fungi immediately after harvesting causing discolouration and strength loss; intensive attack of borer insects in partially dry and dry timber added gravity to the need for developing appropriate processing techniques to enhance durability. Increasing exploitation of the tropical hardwood species and consequent depletion in the stock and the resultant price hike of the traditional timber species as well as the growing concern on the conservation of environment led concerted research efforts in the country to develop utilization technology for the optimum utilization of this non-conventional timber resource.

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PRODUCTION POTENTIAL

Global scenario

The estimated deforestation rate in the developing countries is in the tune of 16.8 million hectares per annum. It has been reported that 0.6 million hectares of tropical rain forests can be conserved with the utilization of economically available rubber wood on an annual basis (ITC 1993). The estimates further showed that if all the available physical potential of rubber wood were used, an additional 0.3 million hectares of tropical rain forests could be saved. All these clearly show the significance of the potential of the resource for saving the environment in terms of its commercial utilization. In terms of money, rubber wood based finished products generate around US $ 1.5 billion per annum in the world market.

Out of the 866 million cubic meters of the world growing stock of rubber wood only 75 per cent is reported to be utilized for industrial applications due to infrastructural and local constraints, size of the holdings and quality of the logs (ITC 1993). Logs with a minimum and above diameter of 15 cms are going to sawmilling and plywood sector. Below the diameter of 15 cms and up to 5 cms is going to the fuel wood sector. The annual world physical production of rubber wood during the period 1998 was estimated to be 41 million cubic meters of which 11 million cubic meters would be logs for sawmilling and plywood industry. The production potential is expected to increase up to 52 million cubic meters by the period 2016-2021 and the log (suitable for sawing/peeling) output could reach 14 million cubic meters per annum (Table 1).

Table1. Region-wise world annual production potential of rubber wood (x 1000 m3/year)

1998-2003 (x 1000 m3)

2004-2009 (x 1000 m3)

2010-2015 (x 1000 m3)

2016-2021 (x 1000 m3)

Region

Logs Total Logs Total Logs Total Logs Total Asia 9816 37493 10693 41631 11995 45276 13257 48330 Africa 1141 3287 624 1943 452 1485 718 2308 Latin America

130 561 314 1414 402 1730 307 1233

World Total 11087 41341 11631 44988 12849 48491 14282 51871 Source: George and Joseph 2002

In the backdrop of the International Tropical Timber Organization’s (ITTO) decision to allow only tropical timber originated from sustainably managed sources (SMS) for international trade; with the timber harvested after 25 to 30 years of latex production from sustainably managed plantations over 22 tropical countries, rubber wood is

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getting acceptance all over the world.

Indian scenario

In India, with the ban imposed by the Honourable Supreme Court on clear felling of trees from the natural forests to conserve tropical forests, the search for a renewable source of wood has gained momentum, and this resulted in the identification of rubber wood, a product of the sustainably managed rubber plantations as an eco-friendly alternative to natural forest-based timber. Low cost coupled with the plentiful availability of this timber warranted attention to look for preservative treatment techniques to overcome its inherent property of low durability. The success in this attempt opened up its potential for commercial exploitation in the country.

India is the fourth largest natural rubber producing country in the world. The area under the crop is steadily increasing since 1995. With a growth rate of 4.65 per cent, the current area under rubber cultivation in the country is 5, 83, 000 hectares. However, the production of rubber wood per unit area in the country is presently in a declining trend mainly due to the introduction of high latex yielding varieties of planting materials having lower timber yield. The current estimated average production of rubber wood per hectare is 150 m3 (equivalent to 5295 cft) in the small holdings; for estates, the corresponding figure is 180 m3. Average life of Indian rubber plantations is estimated to be 29 years in estates and 22 years in small holdings, with about 245 trees per hectare in the final stand in estates and 265 trees in small holdings. The average yield of timber per tree is 0.73 m3 for estate grown and 0.57 m3 for small holdings grown trees; with a 60: 40 proportion of stem wood and branch wood from both sector (Rubber Board of India 1999). With 87% of the timber coming from small holdings, the availability of rubber wood in India has been estimated at 1.6 million cubic meters per year.

Figure 1 shows the projections on rubber wood production in India from 2000-2015. The decline in the estimated availability of rubber wood in India from 2012 onwards is due to the slowdown in rubber planting during the early 1990’s. As the country is timber deficit, importing wood and wood products worth Rs. 15720 millions per annum (out of which 91.4% is rough wood; 28.3% import is from Malaysia, 18.6% from Myanmar, 13.2 from Africa and the remaining 39.9% from other countries), the projections underline the need of a scientific approach in the commercial utilization of the available production potential (DGCIS 1998).

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Fig. 1. Projections of the availability of rubber wood in India during the period 2000-2015 (x1000 m3)

The estimated annual requirement of timber in the country is around 40 million cubic metres and the domestic availability is estimated to be 29.25 million cubic metres. Rubber wood (stem wood) has the potential to offer around 2% of the country’s timber requirement. It has a further potential to conserve more than 20,000 hectares of rain forests on an annual basis. Therefore, it is essential to streamline the policies required for maximum value-addition to this precious by-product of the rubber plantations.

COMMERCIAL UTILIZATION

The stem wood share (60%) is mainly utilized in the country by wood-based industries in the sawmilling and plywood sector. Sawn logs are going to furniture, panel board products, pallets and packing cases; the branch wood share of 40% is consumed by household and industrial firewood sector. Unlike in the rubber wood rich countries like Malaysia, the smaller sized branch wood logs is not so far utilized for the manufacture of panel products such as chipboard, wood cement board and medium density fibre (MDF) board in India.

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In India, still a major share of the wood is utilized for the manufacture of less value-added products like packing cases and inferior quality plywood, as is evident from the field surveys of the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) (Table 2), the estimated total availability of rubber wood during 2006-07 is 1.1 million cubic metres; the consumption pattern of stem wood is dominated by packing case sector (45%), followed by plywood industry (29%), treated wood sector (21%), safety matches and others (5%) (Rubber Board of India 2008). The reason for the declining trend of wood availability for the recent period as detailed by the Rubber Board of India (Table 2) may be possibly due to the shift of planting material to high latex -low timber yielding varieties as well as staggered and delayed replanting. About 33% of the stem wood is found available in India as sawn timber for secondary processing.

Table 2. Estimate of rubber wood availability for the recent years in India

Period Total Wood

(million m3)

Stem Wood (million m3)

Sawn timber for secondary

processing sector (million m3)

2002-03 3.13 1.82 0.63 2003-04 2.9 1.74 0.58 2004-05 1.0 0.60 0.20 2005-06 0.94 0.56 0.19 2006-07 1.1 0.67 0.22

Source: Estimates of RRII

PRICE TREND

Prices of generally preferred merchantable logs over a girth of 675 mm for the period 2002-2008 are given in Table 3. The price of sawn timber (per cft) remain steady (Rs 475) during the last three years (2005-08).

Fluctuation of the price of rubber tree, as per the estimates of the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) for the period 1987 to 2000 is given in Fig. 2. Price remains more or less steady during 1998-2000; the price is highest at present (2008), Rs. 1250/- per tree (personal information from local sawmills).

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0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1987

-88

1988

-89

1989

-90

1990

-91

1991

-92

1992

-93

1993

-94

1994

-95

1995

-96

1996

-97

1997

-98

1998

-99

1999

-00

2008

Year

Aver

age

pric

e/tre

e (R

s)

Table 3 Price of rubber wood logs (per tonne) and sawn wood (per cft)

Year Log Price/Tonne (Rs.)

Price of sawn wood/cft (Rs.)

2002-03 2,300 375 2003-04 2,400 375 2004-05 2,800 375 2005-06 3,200 475 2006-07 3,300 475 2007-08 3,400 475 Source: Estimates of RRII

Source: Estimates of RRII

Fig. 2. Price trend of rubber wood logs in India

CURRENT SITUATION

Due to the high price of latex rubber (in the tune of Rs. 130/kg) in India during 2008, farmers are highly reluctant to fell trees which resulted in an acute shortage of timber; as per the information from sawmills, one tree of about 0.5 tonne is having presently (2008 July) a price around Rs. 1250/- (Fig. 2). Nearly 88 per cent of the area is organized as small holdings, 91 per cent of the production is from small growers; in this respect rubber can be called as the “people’s crop”, as 10.1 lakh growers in this sector fall under the small growers category as against 275 large growers in the country.

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In this way, rubber wood offers an additional source of revenue to the small growers. Despite the additional costs incurred in processing, rubber wood is cheaper than other competing woods from non-plantation origin. The price of treated rubber wood is still 30-40 per cent lower than that of teak in the country.

PROCESSING

Rubber wood processing generally includes a chain of activities to prepare the wood into a final product. Wood processing is categorized into primary and secondary. The primary processing includes conversion by sawmilling and veneering activities done directly on stem logs whereas in secondary processing the sawn timber is further subjected to downstream processing like preservative treatment and drying for the production of rough sawn kiln dried (RSKD) wood, RSKD lumber into finished sizes for furniture components and other value-added products.

PRIMARY PROCESSING

The two prominent features of the Indian rubber wood primary processing are the dominant role of the intermediaries (felling and logging contractors, suppliers, transporting agencies, sawmillers, etc) and their control over the growers and auction centres before the logs reaching the primary processing units (sawmills or veneering units), and the lower level of vertical integration in the industry. In India, more than 75 per cent of the timber is getting routed through the intermediaries; direct procurement from plantations by the processing units exists in a smaller level only. The extent of the direct procurement is found positively related to the scale of production, strength of the unit in terms of mechanical facilities for end product manufacturing, and proximity to the plantations (Joseph and George 1996). Another characteristic feature of majority of wood processing industries in the country is the non-compliance of any single product manufacturing or products of specified dimensions. Indirect procurement system is preferred by small to medium scale units in the country, as it is beneficial to them in terms of unit-wise size specifications leading to waste reduction. As many of the units being not capable to utilize the waste wood portions, the indirect procurement system is still strong in the country. This is in contrast to the prevailing situation in the rubber wood rich countries like Malaysia and Thailand where majority of the modern wood processing units are integrated ones capable to utilize the wood waste for panel products. The technical advantage of direct procurement - utmost importance to quality control aspect from the stage of primary processing (as the processing units are either

25

directly involved from the stage of logging operations or resort to subcontracting the sawing and the initial preservative treatment of the sawn timber) – is not fully practical in the country due to concerns on immediate profit, waste utilization and the involvement of non-compromising intermediaries everywhere.

Due to the practice of allowing more ‘tolerance’ in the thickness of sawn planks in the country, up to 64% sawn timber recovery is possible in the Indian sawmilling sector and the major share of such planks are utilized by the packing case industry. A general reluctance on the part of sawmills to process logs for high quality sawn timber desired for secondary processing is noticed due to the relatively lower recovery rate of 50% and inadequate supply of logs with higher girth required for this specific sector.

The installed per day (8 hour shift) capacity utilization of sawmills in India is also lower (in the range of 3-8 m3) compared to the Malaysian rubber wood sawmilling units (10m3). Majority of the sawmills processing rubber wood in India have an inbuilt arrangement to manufacture packing case materials, without which their sustenance will be difficult; 90% of the sales from Indian rubber wood sawmills are found packing cases, only 10% constitute the planks suitable for secondary processing. Compared to sawmilling, veneering industries operate at a large scale, as is evident from the average procurement of logs in the tune of 4000-6000 metric tonne per annum. In the Indian rubber wood plywood sector, only 20% of the units have the plywood manufacturing facilities, remaining units produce only dry peels. As mentioned earlier, the Indian rubber wood veneering units are more dependent on the intermediaries who control more than 50% of the volume of the rubber wood veneer sales. Major stock of the rubber wood veneers is utilized in the country for the manufacture of low quality plywood and for core veneers.

Preservative treatment of rubber wood – State of art in the country

The freshly cut logs are of about 270 cms long with a girth ranging from 60 to 80 cms. As the freshly cut green timber with high moisture content being highly susceptible to sap stain fungi infestation in the field conditions, it needs to be transported as early as possible into sawmill and the sawing needs to be done immediately (as storing the logs for long duration in the sawmill environment can lead to the sap staining problem). In the tropical humid climatic conditions, serious attack from the sap stain fungus, Botryodiplodia theobromae causing extensive discolouration of the wood adversely affecting the aesthetic appearance and thereby prices also has been reported (Florence 1991; Florence, et. al. 1996) and remedial measures such as end coating the cut ends with bituminous compounds containing sodium pentachloro phenoxide (Na PCP) or any other suitable anti sap staining preservatives till further conversion in the sawmill

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are suggested, even though not very practical from the commercial angle. The bituminous end coats will further help to control the rapid natural drying in case the timber happens to be exposed to the hot weather in the sawmill and subsequent development of drying defects like end splitting leading to timber wastage. The preservative in the end coats, to a certain extent will prevent the infestation of sap stain fungi. Immediately after sawing, the sawn sizes need to be treated with preservative chemicals to protect it permanently from the immediate attack of sap stain as well as decay fungi and insect borers while in service. In the rural context, simple dip diffusion treatment with environment-friendly boron compounds (10% boric acid equivalent (BAE) formulation of boric acid and borax in the ratio 1: 1.5) is suggested (Gnanaharan et. al. 1983; Dhamodaran and Gnanaharan 1984). Duration of dipping is standardized against the thickness of sizes. Diffusion treated wood needs to be stored under cover for a period up to one month depending on the thickness of sizes for uniform distribution and satisfactory penetration of the chemical within the treated timber (Dhamodaran and Gnanaharan 1996) so as conform to the Indian Standards for treated timber (BIS 1982). As such a system, even though it does not require costly equipments and high skill, is time consuming and cumbersome as far as mechanical wood processing industries are concerned, the prolonged diffusion storage period and requirement of handling commercial quantities of timber (requiring more labour) will affect the flow of material. Due to this reason, in India, wood processing industries follows the use of vacuum – pressure impregnation (VPI) process for the treatment of timber utilizing commercial treatment plants. As desired loading of the preservative in large quantity of timber can be ensured within short time by this process, even though it requires high establishment cost for the plants and skilled labour, VPI process is preferred by the industries. Boron compounds and copper – chrome – boric (CCB) formulations are the preferred preservatives for the VPI process. An economical and energy saving treatment schedule was developed for the commercial scale VPI treatment of rubber wood and tested repeatedly against various thickness of sizes, concentration of treatment solution, extent and duration of the application of vacuum and pressure, moisture content of wood, etc. (Dhamodaran 1996; Dhamodaran and Gnanaharan 1993, 1994 a & b, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002; Dhamodaran, et. al. 2001) employing different chemicals depending on the end use applications. The treated timber needs to be dried; either by air seasoning or by kiln seasoning employing dry kilns and seasoning schedules were prescribed by the Indian Standards (BIS 1993, 2001). The treated rough sawn kiln dried (RSKD) timber goes to further secondary or down stream processing for product manufacturing. To get a clear idea on the Indian rubber wood processing industry, the typical flow chart of the operations is as given in

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Fig. 3. and the value chain of a typical semi-mechanised small scale rubber wood processing unit in Kerala, India is given in Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 Flow chart of a typical small scale Indian rubber wood processing industry

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Fig. 4 Value chain in a typical cluster-based semi-mechanised small scale rubber wood processing unit in Kerala, India.

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Secondary processing

The amazing workability of rubber wood has been well documented and it is not getting adversely affected by preservative treatment. It has good sawing and machining properties; can be planed, grooved and sanded easily. Attractive grain patterns, good lustre and ability to accept any dye or stain make it ideal for home or office furniture, flooring and panelling material. Small cuttings and wastes can be used for particle boards, MDF boards, wood cement boards, etc. The suitability indices of Indian rubber wood with respect to teak as 100 as given in Table 4 show the utilization potential of this non-conventional timber. The processed rubber wood from the country compares favourably with the rubber wood from other countries.

Table 4. Suitability indices of rubber wood, compared to teak as 100

Property Suitability Index (Compared to Teak as 1000

Weight or Heaviness 92 Retention of shape 88 Strength as a beam 78 Stiffness as a beam 96 Suitability as post 82 Shock resisting ability 87 Shear 74 Surface hardness 76 Splitting coefficient 60 Nail holding capacity 73

Estimates of RRII

The main indicator for the degree of commercialization of rubber wood is the relative share of the stem wood in the secondary processing, as the extent of value addition from the other consuming sectors such as packing cases, inferior quality plywood, and safety matches, etc is relatively lower. The gravity of the issue of under utilization of rubber wood in India is clearly evident from the lower share of the sawn timber (33%) utilized by the secondary processing sector, in the tune of 0.22 million m3 out of the 0.67 million m3 available stem wood, during 2006-07. This is in contrast to the progress made by Malaysia and Thailand in utilizing the major chunk of the available sawn wood by chemical treatment and kiln seasoning for the manufacture of value-added products and the rapid strides in the export and export earnings (Table 5).

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Table 5. Export earnings of Malaysia from rubber wood products

Products Share (%)

Export Earnings

(Million US $)

Relative Share (%)

Mouldings 20 3 Particle Board 13 2 MDF 87 13 Furniture 536 82 656 100 (Source: George and Joseph 2002)

According to Ser (1990), in 1985, about 81% of the sawn timber output in Malaysia was exported and more than 72% of the export earnings were from sawn timber. Within a decade, the dynamics of the change in the composition of rubber wood based exports to the tune of 82% of the total export earnings is from furniture teaches the lesson that the pivotal factor in this turnaround was the development of well conceived government policy intervention providing incentives to the export of value-added products and promotion to the research and development efforts for the technological upgradation of the downstream manufacturing processes and the clearly spelt out regulations on sawn timber exports (Kadir 1990). The Malaysian experience in the rubber wood development sector offers valuable guidelines relevant to the Indian scenario. Switching over from semi-finished products to finished products is advocated in the country for ready international marketability. FSC Certification for rubber wood products is also in its way in the country.

THE KERALA CONTEXT

More than 86 per cent of India’s area under rubber cultivation lies in the Kerala State, which is the extreme south portion of the country. Up to 69% of the installed capacity for secondary processing of rubber wood is also vested in Kerala due to the regional concentration of the resource. Kerala produces 92% of the rubber wood in the country. This regional concentration of resource and installed capacity for secondary processing is in tune with the specific locational advantages exploited by Malaysia and Thailand. However, the lower levels of capacity utilization, vertical integration and export orientation prevailing in the rubber wood industry in India hinders the progress of this sector. The above facts clearly shows the fact that any development in the Indian rubber wood scenario should be more emphasised to make it appropriate to the Kerala conditions.

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R & D AND PROMOTIONAL AGENCIES

In India, because of the regional concentration of the resource being in Kerala, and during the 1980s the only place where wood science and technology research in Kerala was concentrated in the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI). As the timber being perishable in nature, developing preservative treatment techniques for enhancing its durability became the primary concern and significant contributions in this field were made for the first time in the country by KFRI and the treatment schedules were optimized for both non-pressure dip diffusion treatment for rural applications and the vacuum – pressure impregnation (VPI) treatment for commercial scale industrial applications. Later, the Rubber Board of India realised the importance of the issue and the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) started working in rubber wood utilization. Presently, the Rubber Board has been promoting the rubber wood processing and value addition through the creation of processing and testing facilities and creating awareness through campaigns. In addition, the Rubber Board has also been giving financial assistance to rubber wood processors for implementing projects linked with quality improvement and value addition. To reduce costs and to improve competitiveness in the international market, cluster-based approach has been promoted by the Central and State Government Departments of Industry. Simultaneously, institutions such as the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehra Dun and later when the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is formulated, their research centre - the Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST), Bangalore and the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore also contributed to rubber wood utilization research in the country. The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Kochi, Kerala has conducted a specific study on the potential using preservative treated rubber wood for fishing boats. The United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI) has constituted the Indian Rubber Wood Task Force (IRTF) for promoting the use or rubber wood in India. With the concerted effort of all the above agencies, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has brought out specifications for preservative treated and seasoned timber from rubber wood as IS 14960: 2001. (BIS 2001). Because of the regional advantage and expertise available, KFRI remains as the single institution academically strong in the field of rubber wood utilization research in the country.

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS

In India, even though initial attempts to utilize rubber wood started in the late 1960s, the industry had to wait till the end of the 20th century to gain momentum in terms of

32

technology and investment. Major share of investment in this sector in the country is from private investors. Today, there are about 45 rubber wood processing units of varying size in India. Apart from saving precious foreign exchange used up in the import of timber, it helps in wealth creation and employment generation as well as saving the forests and tropical plantation hardwoods. As mentioned earlier, still packing cases and pallets are the major products manufacturing in the country. In the secondary processing sector, treated RSKD rubber wood is mechanically processed for the manufacture of furniture, panelling and flooring, etc. Finger jointing and glue lamination technology is being used for the manufacture of long and wide boards. The main finished products made from treated rubber wood in India are furniture, panelling, and flooring material.

The biggest unit processing rubber wood in the country, Rubco Huat Woods Ltd., with an installed capacity of 25,000 m3 per annum has set up in the cooperative sector in Kerala, India during 2001 with the technical collaboration of Long Huat Berhad of Malaysia. A list of major Indian rubber wood processing industries is given in Appendix I. The products from these industries comprises edge glued panel (EGP), flooring tiles, furniture and furniture components, doors and windows, kitchen cabinets, etc. Value added products from rubber wood sector offered the home and office segment with stylish products. Apart from this, many small scale industries exist in the country using a mix of species including rubber wood. Being an eco-friendly substitute for conventional timbers – as its origin is from sustainably managed plantations, Indian rubber wood products are getting exported to US, Europe, Japan and West African countries. It is mainly exported as four side planed section (S4S), finger jointed four side planed section (FJS4S), finger jointed edge glued panels (EGP), furniture components, etc.

An unfortunate situation prevailing in the country is the fact that preservative treated RSKD rubber wood is not available in the open market for the public to buy. All rubber wood processing industries producing treated RSKD wood is consuming the whole quantity for manufacturing finished products. Probably, this may be due to the more profit that can be derived from the production of finished goods, as is evident from the value chain (Fig. 4). This situation calls for policy changes in the industry for the benefit of the common man, to make available treated RSKD wood of various sizes in the Indian domestic market. Unlike in traditional timber industry, one can not buy treated rubber wood planks at his choice at present; he can get only finished products from the market.

The existing industries in the country consume only about one-tenth of the available

33

raw material. This clearly shows the scope for further expansion. With proper expertise, finance and government support, optimum exploitation of the available resource could save a foreign exchange to the tune of US $ 200 million by way of substituting the current furniture import and direct employment of the order of 200000 in India.

CONCLUSION

The major issues that needs to be cared immediately in the Indian rubber wood sector are: the inability of secondary processing units to control the quality and price of raw material due to imperfections in the primary market; absence of well organised panel products industry for consuming the sawmill wastes and small dimension logs; in-built disadvantage for the processing industry compared to its counterparts in other rubber wood rich south-east Asian countries due to the comparatively higher prices of rubber wood logs in the country; and marketing problems arising from the acceptability of finished products both in the domestic and world markets due to the absence of a statutory authority to implement and monitor the standards for processing and quality control. Strengthening of promotional agencies in terms of statutory powers supplemented with research and development facilities to offer institutional support, market intelligence and incentives for manufacturing value-added products coupled with the promotion of appropriate panel products manufacturing base to absorb the wastes and small dimension logs as well as the formulation of long term plan for ensuring sustained growth of the industry are the solutions for building up of the Indian rubber wood industry competitive to the international base in the long run.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The technical assistance from Mr. S. Babu, Research Fellow, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) is gratefully acknowledged. Sincere thanks are due to Dr. K. V. Sankaran, Director, KFRI for the encouragements given. Acknowledgements are due to ITTO for permitting to present this paper in the International Workshop on “Promotion of Rubber wood processing in the Asia Pacific Region”, Sanya, Hainan, China, December, 2008.

34

Appendix I

List of major rubber wood processors and product manufacturing industries in India

Sl. No.

Name & Address

1 Andaman Timber Industries Ltd., 10/190-A, Kunduchira Road, Eranholi, P. O., Talassery, Kannur 670107, Kerala. E- mail: agrowood@sancharnet.in Ph: 91 490 2305296

2 Borax Morarji Ltd., Timber Division, 2-1 A-3&4, Nedumangad Road, Shenbagaramanputhoor, Thiruvananthapuram– 629304, Kerala. E-mail: borotik@sancharnet.in Ph: 91 465 2263142

3 Delta Plywood & Boards, Iringole, Perumbavoor - 683548, Kochi, Kerala. E-mail: josechackom@rediffmail.com Ph: 91 484 2524137

4 Emess Industries, Chempakamangalam, Korani, P. O., Thiruvananthapuram - 695104, Kerala. E-mail: emess@sancharnet.in Ph: 91 471 2429734

5 Feroke Boards Pvt. Ltd., Karad, P. O., Farook College, Kozhikkode – 673632, Kerala. E-mail: mail@feroply.com Ph: 91 483 2830597

6 Fulcrum Corporation, Koodal, P. O., Pathanamthitta – 689693, Kerala. E- mail: fulcrum@avtgroup.net Ph: 91 475 3958492.

7 Gomma Wood Products, Manjamattom, Moozhoor, P. O., Kottayam – 686503, Kerala. E-mail: ktm_gomma@sancharnet.in Ph: 91 481 2543054.

8 Highrange Wood Treats Pvt. Ltd., Rubber Wood Processing Plant, Keerampara, Kothamangalam, Eranakulam, Kerala. E- mail: hwtwood@yahoo.co.in Ph: 91 485 2571381

9 Indroyal Crafts (P) Ltd., RS No. 557/2, Sundarapandyapuram Road, Kambley, Ayikudi, Thenkasi – 627852, Tamil Nadu. E-mail: indroyal@satyam.net.in Ph: 91 463 3268100

10 Jackteek Furniture, P. B. No. 1040, Usha Kiron, M. G. Road, Eranakulam – 682011, Kerala. E- mail: jacsons@satyam.net.in Ph: 91 484 2355314.

11 Meenachil Rubber Wood Pvt. Ltd., P. B. No. 1424, , IPC Philadelphia Building, KK Road, Kanjikuzhy, Kottayam – 686004, Kerala. E- mail: metrowood2@yahoo.co.in Ph: 91 481 2578548

12 Malankara Wood Ltd., Malankara Building, P. B. No. 72, Kodimatha, Kottayam, Kerala. Ph: 91 481 2568360.

13 Nilambur Good Wood Ltd., Chemmaram, Nauvath, P. O., Nilambur, Malappuram, Keral;a. E-mail: goodwood@satyam.net.in Ph: 91 4931 200528.

14 Prestige Boards Pvt. Ltd., Mill Road, Valapattanam, P. O., Kannur – 670010, Kerala.

35

E-mail: cnn_prestige@sancharnet.in Ph: 91 498 2224006. 15 Rubco Huat Woods (P) Ltd., II DC, KINFRA, Eranholi, Thalassery, Kannur –

670107, Kerala. E-mail: gmhuat@rubcomail.com Ph: 91 490 2350381.

16 Rubberwood India Pvt. Ltd., P. B. No. 1425, IPC Philadelphia Building, KK Road, Kanjikuzhy, Kottayam – 686004, Kerala. E- mail: indiawood@vsnl.com Ph; 91 481 2578623.

17 Shilpi Wood Links (P) Ltd., Shilpi Mansion, Ugrapuram, Areecode, P. O., Malappuram – 673639, Kerala. E-mail: shilpy_wood@yahoo.com Ph: 91 483 3257590.

18 Starowood, 246, 1st Main Road, M. E. S. Road, B. Nagar, Gokula, Bangalore, Karnataka. E-mail: starowood@hotmail.com Ph: 91 80 25768460.

19 Unique Wood Industries, No. 2016, 7th Main, II Stage, Rajaji Nagar, Bangalore – 560010, Karnataka. Ph: 91 80 23327811.

20 Uniwood Products, Devi Kripa, Valanjambalam, Chittoor Road, Eranakulam – 682016, Kerala. E-mail: mail@uniwoodproducts.com

21 Woodtech Industries, 294/IX, Pullur, P. O., Kalletumkara, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur – 680683, Kerala. Ph: 91 488 2823204.

22 Kutty Flush Doors & Furniture Co. Pvt. Ltd., Poonamalle High Road, Koyambebu, Chennai – 600107, Tamil Nadu. E-mail: kutty@vsnl.com Ph: 91 44 24799797.

REFERENCES

BIS 2001. Preservative treated and seasoned sawn timber from rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis) – Specification. IS 14960: 2001. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi, India.

BIS 1982. Code of practice for the preservation of timber IS: 401-1982. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi, India.

BIS 1993. Code of practice for seasoning of timber. IS: 1141-1993. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), New Delhi, India.

DGCIS.1998. Monthly Statistics of Foreign Trade, Volume 2, Imports. Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Calcutta. Pp 397-406.

Dhamodaran, T. K. 1996. Preservative treatment and chemical modification of rubber wood. Ph. D. Thesis. Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala, India.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1984. Effect of immersion time on loading and distribution of boric acid in rubber wood by diffusion process. Journal of

36

Indian Academy of Wood Science 15: 19-23. Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1989. Upgradation of rubber wood through

boron diffusion treatment. Rubber Board Bulletin 25(1): 12-17 & 19. Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1993. Verification of an economical schedule

for boron impregnation treatment of partially dried rubber wood. Journal of Timber Development Association of India 39(2): 33-35.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1994a. Commercial scale trial of an economical schedule for boron impregnation treatment of green rubber wood. Holz als Roh und Werkstoff 52: 323-324.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1994b. Upgradation of rubber wood. KFRI Research Report No. 93. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi – 680 653, Kerala, India.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1996. Optimum storage period for boron diffusion treatment of rubber wood. International Research Group on Wood Preservation Document No. IRG/WP/96-30121. 7p.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 1998. Effect of under-water storage on the utilization value of rubber wood. In: Proceedings of the ITTO/FORIG/VAHPU Conference, Kumasi, Ghana, 17-19, February 1988. pp 171-175.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 2000. Optimising the schedule for CCA impregnation treatment of rubber wood. Holz als Roh und Werkstoff 59: 294-298.

Dhamodaran, T. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 2002. Tratability of under-water stored rubber wood with boron preservative. Journal of Tropical Forest Products 8(1): 66-71.

Dhamodaran, T. K., Thulasidas, P. K. and Gnanaharan, R. 2001. Commercial scale trial of an economical schedule for CCB impregnation treatment of partially dried rubber wood: Treatability of wood from two Heva clones. Journal of Timber Development Association of India 47 (3&4): 37-40.

Florence, E. J. M. 1991. Sapstain fungi of some commercially important timbers and their control. KFRI Research Report No. 80. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi – 680 653, Kerala, India.

Florence, E. J. M., Gnanaharan, R. and Sharma, J. K.1996. Studies on growth and prevention of sapstain fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae in rubber wood and its effect on strength properties. KFRI Research Report No. 114. Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi – 680 653, Kerala, India.

George, K. T and Joseph, T. 2002. Rubber wood production and utilization in India,

37

In: Gnanaharan, George, K. T. and Damodaran, K. 2002. Rubber Wood Processing and Utilization in India. Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Project, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. Ganesh Publications, Bangalore, India. Pp 1-9.

Gnanaharan, R., Mathew, G. and Dhamodaran, T. K.1983. Protection of rubber wood against Sinoxylon anale Les. (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae). Journal of Indian Academy of Wood Science 14: 9-11.

ITC. 1993. Market study on rubber wood – A study of the World Development Potential. International Trade Centre (ITC). UNCTAD/GATT, Geneva. 99p.

Joseph, T and George, K. T. 1996. Primary processing of rubber wood in Kerala: Report of sample survey. Wood News 5(4): 39-43.

Kadir, K. A. 1990. Opportunities and incentives for rubber wood manufacturing in Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the International Rubber wood Seminar, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pp 153-164.

Rubber Board of India 2008. Annual Report of the Rubber Research Institute of India. Rubber Board of India, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Kottayam, Kerala. p 104.

Rubber Board of India 1999. Indian Rubber Statistics. Volume 22. Rubber Board of India, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Kottayam, Kerala.

Ser, C. S. 1990. Rubber wood resources in Asean and potential for its wider utilization. In: Proceedings of the International Rubber wood Seminar, 21-22 May 1990.Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

39

Current Status of Plantation Forest Development and

Its Utilization in Indonesia1

Karnita Yuniarti2 Forest Products Research and Development Centre (FPRDC), Ministry of Forestry, Jl Gunung Batu 5 PO BOX 182

BOGOR 16610. Indonesia E-mail:karnita_yuniarti@yahoo.com Indonesia

Satria Astana3 Forestry Production Management, Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia

Abstract: This country report briefly illustrates the general situation of plantation forest development and its utilization in Indonesia. It includes the current potency of plantation forest, the utilization, and the status of research and development program especially in forest management and utilization, and the policy development as well.

I INTRODUCTION

Forestry sector in Indonesia has an important role in the economic development of the country. Currently, the government of Indonesia through its acting ministry (Ministry of Foresty) has revitalised forestry sector among others by accelerating the establishment of plantation forest and by encouraging wood processing industry to increase its efficiency. This report first illustrates the current potency of plantation forest, and then followed by its utilization, the status of research and development program, especially in forest management and utilization, and the policy development. The last is the conclusion of the report.

1 Country Report for the International Workshop on Promotion of Rubber Wood Processing

Technology in the Asia-Pacific Region, Haikou City, Hainan Province, P.R. China, December, 7-16, 2008.

2 Researcher, Forest Products Research and Development Centre (FPRDC), Ministry of Forestry,

Indonesia. 3 Deputy Director of Processing and Marketing of Forest Products, Directorate General of Forestry

Production Management, Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia.

40

II CURRENT POTENCY

The plantation forest in Indonesia may be classified into four types of resources: (1) industrial timber estate (ITE), (2) Perhutani timber estate (PTE), (3) small scale timber estate (SSTE), and (4) rubber plantation (RBP). The ITE in particular has been established since the late of 1980s. The establishment of ITE is based on the need of raw materials for the industrial purposes, such as pulpwood, construction wood and fuel-wood.

Cumulative total area of ITE achieved until year 2006 was around 3.5 million ha, consisting of 2.4 million ha of pulpwood estate, 1.0 million ha of saw log/ply log estate, and 0.1 million ha of fuel-wood estate (Ministry of Forestry, 2007). Figure 1 shows the development of ITE from the late 1980s to 2006. The government has had a target to establish the planted areas of ITE about 5 million ha by 2009.

Figure 1. The development of plantation forest in Indonesia

(Ministry of Forestry, 2007)

Meanwhile plantation forest developed by Perum Perhutani –the government-owned enterprise- reached a cumulative figure of around 1.7 million ha until year 2006 (Ministry of Forestry, 2007). The forest is dominated by teak plantation, spreading widely in the three provinces of Java, namely East Java, Central Java and West Java. However, the rubber plantation (RBP) has long been developed. In year 2006 the rubber plantation achieved was around 3.3 million ha (Ministry of Agriculture, 2006).

The last group of plantation forest, that is the small scale timber estates (SSTE), is

41

difficult to estimate. Around 1.5 million ha of SSTE was estimated to have a potency of timber about 39 million m3 (Darusman and Hardjanto, 2006). The SSTE is usually established by the community. Tree species in this typical forest among others are Paraserianthes falcataria, fruit-producing trees, and mahogany.

It was reported that the total timber production of plantation forest was 23.43 million m3 in 2006 and dropped to 21.36 million m3 in 2007. The timber production from ITE and Perhutani was more stable than those from SSTE and RBP.

III CURRENT UTILIZATION

Table 1 showed the number of industries in 2006 and 2007 based on the source of log they consumed. The number of industries recorded in 2006 was 159 units but in 2007 it decreased up to 134 units. However, the log consumption in 2007 increased up to 41,565,000 m3 from 38,619,000 m3 in 2006. This is due to the fact that although there had been some old industries collapsed in 2007, there are some new industries established in particular those consuming mixed-log from plantation forest and rubber plantation.

From Table 1 it may be summarized that the number of industries consuming log of natural forest tend to decrease, while those consuming log of plantation forest and rubber plantation tend to increase. If this is the case, then it can be expected that log consumption in particular of plantation forest will gradually replace those of natural forest in the future, while log consumption of rubber plantation may be as the raw materials supplement of the industries, especially for primary wood processing products of veneer/plywood/LVL, sawn-timber, and wood chips (Table 2).

42

Table 1 The number of industries and log consumption based on types of source (Directorate of forest products processing and marketing management, 2008)

2006 2007

Log

Consumption

Log

Consumption

No.

Source of raw materials Number

of

industries (x 1000 m3)

Number of

industries

(x 1000 m3)

1 Natural forest (N) 74 3.695 41 3.242

2 Plantation forest (P) 31 5.053 24 3.233

3 Rubber plantation (R) - - 3 34

4 Import (I) - - 1 1

5 Mix

a. N+P 33 25.807 24 27.036

b. N+R - - 1 3

c. N+I 4 388 2 1.026

d. P+I 1 290 1 363

e. P + R 8 2338 27 5293

e. N+P+R 1 26 2 218

f. N+P+I 7 1.022 6 816

g. N+P+R+I - - 2 300

Total 159 38.619 134 41.565

Table 2. Types of primary wood-processing products from log of plantation forest

No. Types of primary wood-processing products 1 Sawn Timber 2 Veneer 3 Plywood 4 LVL 5 Pulp 6 Wood Chips

43

IV STATUS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

In order to obtain successfull sustainable plantation forest, intensive and supporting research and development are required. Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), the responsible working unit in the Ministry of Forestry in carrying out research activities relating to forestry sector, has established several R&D programs to support the sustainable plantation forest development.

The R&D program focuses on the development of several species, including plant production and protection technology, harvesting technique, and products development. Several species investigated in this R&D program are teak, Paraserianthes falcataria, Araucaria sp., Acacia spp., Eucalyptus spp., etc. Several temporary promising outputs have been generated through years of R&D in plantation forest development. However, several research issues still remains and continous supports are required to answer the questions raises in the remaining R&D program. Table 3 shows the activities, the progress and remaining issues on R&D program on forest management and utilization.

Research activities in the utilization of woods from crops estate has also been carried out. The program mainly focuses on products development and processing technology. Some promising outputs have been generated such as patent right for innovative technique to process oil-palm trunks for construction purpose, treatment for rubber wood, and the use of coconut wood for construction. However, other research issues still remains untouched, such as machinery and equipment engineering to process those crope-estate woods, physical and chemical modification of the basic properties, and other techniques to improve processing efficiency or products development.

44

Table 3 Status of R&D in plantation forest of Indonesia (Ministry of Forestry, 2008)

No Research

Areas

Activities Progress (temporary) Remaining issues

1

Fore

st M

anag

emen

t

a. Tree quality improvement

through better propagation

technique, genetic

engineering

b. Mycorrhiza technology to

support the plantation

process of the seed/ling in

the field

c. Methods to minimize the

fire disaster and the rate of

attack by pests and

diseases

d. Seedling technology

Mycorrhiza, superior

seed/ling, heart-rot

solution techniques, etc

Improved

propagation

technique, genetic

engineering,

seedling technology,

etc

2

Fore

st U

tiliz

atio

n

a. Harvesting techniques in

plantation areas

b. Basic properties of

plantation timber

c. Processing techniques to

improve the quality of

plantation timbers

d. Products development

e. Wastes utilization

Solar drying,

preservative treatments

techniques, composites

products development

(plywood, glue

laminated timber,

particle board), paper,

furniture from wastes,

bio-energy products

(charcoal, briquette),

mushroom, etc

Machinery

engineering to

improve the

processing

efficiency, Wood

chemicals

development (for

preservative,

adhesives,

finishing,etc),

Products

development etc

V POLICY DEVELOPMENT

To support the development and utilization of plantation forest as potential future source of wood, the Ministry of Forestry has regulated on both the plantation activities

45

and the utilization of plantation forest. The goal is to provide supporting or conducive climate for investment in the plantation forest development. It is expected that the policies will facilitate to achieve the targeted objectives in developing and utilizing the plantation forest.

In early years of plantation forest development, the policies established generally regulate the development of plantation forest by private sectors. However, as SSTE is becoming more and more important in supplying log for the industries, the government then also opens the opportunity for the community, particularly those living surrounding the forest, to get involve in the development of industrial plantation by introducing new program, namely “Community-Industrial Plantation Forest (Hutan Tanaman Rakyat)”. The program of Hutan Tanaman Rakyat was first introduced in 2006, and included in the forest management planning as stipulated in the Government Decree No.6/2007.

Since then, the program of Hutan Tanaman Rakyat has been introduced to almost provinces in Indonesia and has received positive response from the community. The general aim of the program is to improve the livelihood and competency of the forest community in managing the forest. In line with this, the private sector is also given the opportunity to get involve in the program by playing the role as the market for the timbers produced in the program or contribute to the investement required. To support the program, several relating regulations are now being processed and study/research in relevant aspects, particularly the readiness of community to get involve in the program and the marketing aspects, are also now being established.

Table 4 shows the lists of relating policies for the development of industrial plantation forest in Indonesia. Including in the lists is also the regulations in the utilization of timbers from community forest (which is different from Hutan Tanaman Rakyat program). The Minister of Forestry Decree No.51/Menhut-II/2006 regulates the documents required for timber distribution from the community forest to the industries, and it is also applied for the utilization of rubber wood. In addition, plantation of rubber wood is mostly being stipulated by the Ministry of Agriculture. This is based on the objective of the plantation itself which is to produce the commercial rubber saps rather than timbers.

46

Table 4. Main policies development relating to the management and utilization of plantation forest in Indonesia (Ministry of Forestry, 2008)

Aspects Regulations Contents

1. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.3/Menhut-II/2008

Area delineation procedures for industrial plantation forest

2. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.19/Menhut-II/2007

The general procedures to apply for license/permit in establishing plantation area by the private sector

Man

agem

ent

3. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) Decree No: P.6/Menhut-II/2007

General forest management

1. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.35/Menhut-II/2008

Primary industry for forest products (Sawn timber, veneer, chips, plywood, laminated veneer lumber (LVL))

2. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.45/Menhut-II/2007

General application procedure for permit/license in the utilization of equipments for forest products extraction in plantation forest areas

3. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.23/Menhut-II/2007

General application procedures for permit/license in the utilization of timbers from community-industrial forest

4. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.9/Menhut-II/2007

Working plan for the utilization of forest products in the plantation forest areas (including community-industrial plantation forest)

Util

izat

ion

5. The Minister of Forestry (MoF) Decree No: P.51/Menhut-II/2006

The use of letter of origin clearance (SKAU) for timbers from community forest

VI CONCLUSION

The plantation forest in Indonesia may be classified into four types of resources: (1) industrial timber estate (ITE), (2) Perhutani timber estate (PTE), (3) small scale timber estate (SSTE), and (4) rubber plantation (RBP). The number of industries consuming log of natural forest tend to decrease, while those consuming log of plantation forest and rubber plantation tend to increase. The R&D program focuses on the development of several species, including plant production and protection technology, harvesting technique, and products development. Several species investigated in this R&D program among others are teak, Paraserianthes falcataria,

47

Araucaria sp., Acacia spp., and Eucalyptus spp. To support the development and utilization of plantation forest as potential future source of wood, the Ministry of Forestry has regulated on both the plantation activities and the utilization of plantation forest.

REFERENCES

Directorate of forest products processing and marketing management. 2008. Internal data. Unpublished. Ministry of Forestry.

Ministry of Forestry. 2008. www.dephut.go.id. Accessed on Thursday, November 11, 2008.

Ministry of Forestry. 2007. Data Strategis Kehutanan (Forestry Strategic Database). Ministry of Forestry. Jakarta

49

Forest Plantation Development in Malaysia with

Special Reference nn Rubber Plantation – An

Overview+

Mohd Paiz Kamaruzaman Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia E-mail:tppno@pahang.gov.my Ahmad Zuhaidi Yahy Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109 Selangor

Abstract: The forestry sector has played an important role in socio-economic development in Malaysia. It has contributed significant amount of government revenue, foreign currency and employment opportunities. In this regard, Malaysia is fully aware of the need to sustainable managed its natural tropical forests as well as establishment of well managed large scale commercial plantation and development of vibrant timber industries in order to ensure that the sector will continue to remain relevant in future. It is anticipated that the production of timber from the natural forests is likely to decrease due to dwindling of natural forest areas and stringent rules and regulations including environmental considerations in their management. In this context, the development of the forests plantation sector is essential in Malaysia in order to supplement timber supply from the natural forest and to ensure healthy trade balance in future. Subsequently, forest plantation will be an important supplementary source of raw materials to support the ever-growing wood based processing industries. In addition, the popularity of rubber wood as an important source for furniture manufacturing, the government has encourages the establishment of rubber wood plantation to gather the needs of the rubber wood industry which has now matured into billion ringgit foreign exchange earner. In this endeavor, this paper will highlight the development of forest plantation in the country as well as the issue and challenges associated in establishment of the forest plantation. The paper also discussed on the efforts taken to encourage the planting of rubber wood which has become a significant raw material for wood based industry in Malaysia.

50

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In Malaysia, the forestry sector continues to play an important role in the socio-economic development of the country, it continues to be major contributor to the country’s export earnings and provide employment opportunities. The export earnings from the industry have over the year’s experienced and upward trend, reaching a high of about RM 21.5 billion in the year 2005, representing 5% of the country’s total export revenue for that year. The timber industry is very dependent on the extent of forests, thus, the forest is very crucial and serve as a major source of raw materials for many timber processing industries in Malaysia.

Despite this achievement, the forestry sector is faced with a number of challenges which could affect its contribution to national economy. The rapid development of the timber processing industry had created increased pressure on the supply of natural forest. In addition, the acceptance of rubber wood for furniture in the international market had resulted in its increasing demand as an important source of raw material for the furniture industry. In view of that, Malaysia recognizes that forests plantation which is capable of yielding a higher volume of timber per unit area within a shorter period of time will help to relieve pressure from over harvesting the natural forest. Over the years, forest plantation development has form an essential part of the strategic development plan for the sustainable management of forest resources in Malaysia. This strategy has been adopted by the government in the last few decades when efforts have been made to establish forest plantation of fast growing timber species.

It importance is also reflected in the National Forest Policy 1978 (revised 1992) which incorporated a provision that encourages the establishment of high quality timber forest plantation as well as the active and increase participation of private sector in the establishment. In fact, forest plantation in Malaysia will be playing an important role in supplementing wood supply to the timber processing industry in the future. This paper will highlight the development of forest plantation in Malaysia as well as efforts taken to encourage planting of rubber for timber as well as latex production.

2.0 FOREST RESOURCE AREA

Malaysia is a tropical country with a total land area of approximately 32.83 million ha comprises 13.16 million ha in Peninsular Malaysia, 7.37 million ha in Sabah and 12.30 million ha in Sarawak. At the end of 2006, the total area of forest in Malaysia was estimated to be 19.52 million ha or 59.5% of the total land area. The proportion of forested area is higher in Sabah (4.40 million ha, 60% of land area) and Sarawak (9.24

51

million ha, 75% of land area) than in the more developed Peninsular Malaysia.

Of the total forest area, 14.39 million ha is designated as Permanent Reserved Forests (PRFs) which is under sustainable management. Approximately 11.18 million ha of the PRFs are production forests with the remaining 3.21 million ha being protection forest. A total of 2.15 million ha is designated as National Park, Wildlife and Bird Sanctuaries of which 0.32 million ha are located in the PRFs, and 2.98 million ha is designated as Stateland for planned conversion to other uses.

3.0 FOREST PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT

The history of forest plantation in Malaysia began in the late 1800’s, which involves several planting initiatives of some selected indigenous timber species at an experimental basis. Some well-known exotics were also introduced which include Swietenia macrophylla, Tectona grandis and Hevea brasiliensis. Teak, the most notable exotic timber species, was first introduced to Penang Island in the 1800’s. The earliest successful teak plantation was establishment at Sungai Raya in Langkawi Island around 1906. However, in 1950’s, the first commercial scales experimental planting of Tectona grandis was successfully carried out by the Forestry Department in Perlis and Kedah. The species was chosen in view of its reputation as a high quality timber in the international market.

In the early 1970’s, the establishment of forest plantation for the production of pulp was given high priority by the Government. It was projected that the domestic consumption of paper and products would increase tremendously in tandem with the population growth and socio-economic development in the country. In this regard, the government planned for the establishment of a pulp and paper mill. In order to meet requirement of long fibred materials, there was a need to establish plantation to produce such fiber. With the assistance of FAO and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a pilot plantation of quick growing industrial tree species was launched. This pilot project had identified Pinus caribea var Hondurenses (Pine) as the main species. By end of 1985, a total of 3,560 ha of mainly Pinus caribea were established in the four major states of Pahang, Johor, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. However, the rate of establishment was slow due to serious seed supply and other technical problems. In addition, the government also decided to shelve the planned establishment of pulp and paper mill. Hence, the project was discontinued.

A study conducted by the Forestry Department in 1979 projected that there will be an impeding shortages of log supply in the future. Thus, the commercial forest plantation

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establishment in Malaysia gained momentum in the early 1980’s when the Compensatory Forest Plantation Project (CFPP) was launched. The main objective of the project was to supplement wood supply through the planting of fast growing hardwood species to produce general utility timber for the industries. Species such as Acacia mangium, Gmelina arborea and Paraserianthes falcataria were planted. The project planned to establish 188,000 ha of forest plantation and to be harvested in 15 years. The CFPP was started in 1982 covering the states of Pahang, Johor, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. The project was co-financed by loans through the Federal Government of Malaysia and the Asian Development Bank. In the second phase of the project, three states of Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu were included. However, there was a change in the policy of the Government that plantation development should be undertaken by the private sector. Hence, in 1996, the National Forestry Council proposed that all forest plantations established under the CFPP be privatized in line with the National Privatization Policy. At the end 2006, the total plantation area was 43,225 ha comprising mainly Acacia mangium and a small percentage of Gmelina arborea and Paraserianthes falcataria. Currently, most of the existing forest plantations in the States of Johor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor have been privatized to companies and State Corporations. The Acacia mangium plantations have reached maturity and were harvested. The harvested timber was mainly utilized by the local industries for the manufacture of furniture and other general utility purposes.

In the State of Sabah and Sarawak, the Forestry Department also implemented forest plantation programme. For the case of Sabah, forest plantation development has started as early as 1973. Unlike Peninsular Malaysia, the forest plantation in Sabah was initiated through state corporations, and later followed by private and public companies. The corporations involved in forest plantation development are Sabah Softwood (SSSB), Sabah Forestry Development Authority (SAFODA), Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) and Innoprise Corporation (ICSB). As in Peninsular Malaysia, earlier planting was carried out with Pinus species to supply long fibre material for the planned pulp mill. However, since the late 1970’s, other fast growing hardwood species were introduced, predominantly Acacia mangium, Gmelina arborea, Paraserianthes falcataria and Eucalyptus deglupta. In the recent years, local timber and plantations companies have also started to be involved in the establishment of forest plantation, such as Tabung Haji Plantation which established a large scale teak plantation. To date, the state government has also earmarked another 598,123 ha of land potential for the establishment of new forest plantations.

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In the State of Sarawak, interest in forest plantation in Sarawak began in 1936 with the establishment of Shorea macrophylla plantation in Semengoh Forest Reserve. Before the 1970’s, forest plantation development in Sarawak was on a small scale with the planting of indigenous and fast-growing exotic species. However, the development of forest plantation began in the late 1970’s with the implementation of two programmes. To put it differently, forest plantation development in Sarawak is treated more as a reforestation programme than as a plantation project. The first is the Reforestation and Forest Rehabilitation Programme implemented by the Sarawak Forest Department. The main objective of this programme is to rehabilitate shifting cultivation areas and degraded land inside the permanent forest estate and converting those areas into productive forest. To date, a total of 24,173 ha of forest plantation had been established in mostly shifting cultivation areas inside the permanent forest estate. The second programme is the establishment of Planted forests whereby licenses for Planted Forests (LPFs) are issued by the State government to the private sector, mostly big Timber companies to enable them to establish forest plantation within their own license areas in accordance to the approved Tree planting plan for a period of 60 years. Thus, on 1 March 1997, the State Government introduced the Forest (Planted Forests) Rules 1997 which regulates the development of Planted Forests in Sarawak. This marks the major step in development of Forest plantation in Sarawak. The state government has set a target to establish 1 million ha of planted forests by the year 2020. Currently, a total of 42 licenses for planted forest have been issued and the total area of planted forest established is approximately 190,000 ha.

Currently, a total of 437,412 ha of forest plantation had been established in Malaysia. Of this total, 56,827 ha were established in Peninsular Malaysia, 189,910 ha in Sabah and 190,675 ha in Sarawak.

4.0 RUBBER PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT

Rubber was first introduced to Malaysia in 1877 with nine seedlings of rubber were planted at Kuala Kangsar in the State of Perak. The seed were successfully germinated in the glasshouse of the London’s Royal Botanical Gardens, and are the origin of plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. By 1890’s, rubber has been planted commercially in Malaysia, initially as intercrop in coffee plantations and later as a mono crop planting. Prior to 1930’s, most of the rubber plantations established was by large estate holding. It was in the beginning of 1960 with little investment by large estate, new rubber planting was carried out by smallholders which obtained planting grant provided by the government as well as various land development agencies such as

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FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority), FELCRA (Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority), Rubber Industry (Replanting) Board, and later RISDA (Rubber Smallholders Development Authority).

However, during the 1980’s the competitiveness and viability of the rubber sector beginning to decline due to several factors including labor shortage, declining latex prices, competition from other rubber producing countries and rising cost which give rise to reduce profit margins. Moreover, in 1970’s and 1980’s new land development give emphasis on the planting of oil palm which is more profitable crops due to its shorter return to investment and less labor intensive. By the 1990’s there were a drastic reduction in replanting of matured rubber as result of the conversion of old and mature rubber stands into oil palm particularly by the estate. By the end of 1999, the total area under rubber went down to 1.46 million ha as compare with 1.76 million ha in 1993. In 2007, the total area further reduced to 1.25 million ha of rubber land of which 1.20 million ha were smallholdings and only about 0.05 million ha of estate (Ang, 2008).

In the past, when an area of old rubber trees was to be planted, the trees were felled and burnt. There was no value to the rubber wood except as firewood. However, it was during the 1970’s that saw the emergence of rubber wood as a source of raw material for the timber industry. Apart from sawn timber, rubber wood is used in the panel industry, wood cement board, moulding and joinery and most significantly, the furniture industry. Traditional source of rubber wood is from the matured trees in the estates and the smallholdings. In view of the decline in rubber replanting, it is anticipated that the supply of rubber wood may not be able to meet the demand of the furniture industry. Therefore, it is imperative to establish an alternative source of rubber wood supply through the establishment of rubber forest plantation.

4.1 Rubberwood as Forest Plantation Species

By 1890’s, the cultivation of rubber spread initially planted as inter cropping in coffee plantations and later as mono cropping. These plantations produce latex, which for many decades have contributed significantly to the economic well being of the country. Rubber wood in conventional plantations is harvested when latex productivity declines (economic life about 30 years) and yields 100 m3 per hectare of logs as by product, but recovery of sawn timber is only 25 - 45 % because of poor stem form and small size. Quality furniture, parquet, paneling, reconstituted panels (MDF), general utility timber and charcoal, are manufactured from rubber wood. In less than a decade of research and development by FRIM, rubber wood has emerged as a substitute for light tropical forest hardwoods. Its acceptance as a sustainable plantation-grown, environmentally friendly timber has given it wide appeal (FAO 2001).

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Rubber wood has become a popular substitute for light tropical hardwoods and as one of the major timbers for the production of furniture and indoor building components. The main reasons for its acceptability are due to favourable timber and woodworking properties and the relatively cheap raw material price. Low price of rubber wood has made the wood highly competitive in comparison with timber from traditional sources, natural and planted forests. Nevertheless, the supply of rubber wood from conventional rubber plantations is declining rapidly as much of the rubber areas have been replaced with oil palm. In view of this problem, government has launched new forest plantation programme targeted to establish 375,000 ha of hardwood plantations in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak within the next 15 years.

Of the eight species of timber trees recommended for planting, rubber TLC is more preferable by the local planters as the amount of loan provided by the government is higher than the amount allocated to other timber species, while the prerequisite land area requirement (i.e. size of landholding) is lower. Timber latex clones for rubber forest plantation are those recommended in group I and group II in the Malaysian Rubber Board (LGM) planting recommendation. Table 1 gives the list of TLC and their yields of latex and timber.

Table 1 Latex timber clones (TLC) of Hevea brasiliensis for rubber forest plantation

CLONE Latex yield (kg/ha/yr) Estimated stem volume (cu. m/tree)

RRIM 929 3148 0.60 RRIM 2001 2850 0.41 RRIM 2002 2348 0.44 RRIM 2008 2686 0.33 RRIM 2009 2277 0.34 RRIM 2014 2007 0.53 RRIM 2015 2760 0.43 RRIM 2016 2582 0.43 RRIM 2020 2232 0.36 RRIM 2023 2822 0.35 RRIM 2024 2685 0.52 RRIM 2025 2700 0.63 RRIM 2026 2204 0.66 RRIM 2027 3036 0.60 PB260 1633 0.37 PB 355 1397 0.53

Source: MRB Monograph No. 5

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The development of Timber Latex-Timber-Clone plantation is almost similar to the present establishment and maintenance of rubber estates with some silvicultural modifications. The planting density is increased from 450 to 625 trees ha-1. To shorten the gestation period, planting cycle is reduced from 25-35 to 15-20 years. Terracing is not necessary as this will be replaced by tapping paths. The trees will be maintained untapped for 6 years to allow better bole volume development. Tapping commences following this and continues for 10 -15 years.

4.2 Products from rubber wood

Previous to the utilization of rubber wood for timber and timber-based products, the felled trees were used as fuel wood e.g drying and smoking of sheet rubber, tobacco-curing, brick making etc or just simply burnt away. In Malaysia, the first commercial use of rubber wood is to convert it to charcoal as fuel for steel production in the late 1960’s (Abdul Rashid 1998). The possibility of utilizing rubber wood for purposes other than those mentioned above came about in the 1970’s as it was envisaged then that there will be a shortage of logs from the forest in a not distance future. Rubber wood is one of the more durable lumbers used in the manufacturing of today's home furnishings. As a member of the maple family, rubber wood has a dense grain character that is easily controlled in the kiln drying process. Rubber wood has very little shrinkage making it one of the more stable construction materials available for furniture manufacturing. Like maple, rubber wood is a sap producing species. In the case of maple, it is sap; in the case of rubber wood, it is latex. Rubber wood produces all the latex used in the world for all rubber based products.

Rubber wood is the most ecologically "friendly" lumber used in today's furniture industry. After the economic life of the rubber tree, which is generally 26-30 years, the latex yields become extremely low and the planters then fell the rubber trees and plant new ones. So, unlike other woods that are cut down for the sole purpose of producing furniture, rubber wood is used only after it completes it's latex producing cycle and dies. This wood is therefore eco-friendly in the sense that we are now using what was going as waste. The timber from rubber wood is very suitable for furniture making based on the properties as follows;

Density(kg/M3 at 16% MC ---------------------------- 560-640 Tangential Shrinkage Coefficient (%) ------------- 1.2 Radical Shrinkage Coefficient (%) ----------------- 0.8 Hardness(N) ----------------------------------------------- 4,350 Static Bending, N/mm at 12% MC ------------------ 66

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Modulus of elasticity,n/mm at 12%MC ------------ 9,700 Source : FRIM , Malaysia

The remarkable success of rubber wood as a raw material lies on its wood properties. It has an average density at around 600 kg m3 and can be easily sawn, cut or nailed by machine. The colour ranges from whitish yellow to pale cream and hence able to be stained into various colour tones resembling expensive timber such as mahogany, meranti and even teak. The greatest attraction is its texture, which is fine to medium.

Among the products made from rubber wood are dining sets, living room and bedroom sets, chairs, casts and children furniture (Picture 1). The wood also used in the manufacture of mouldings and a wide range of items like kitchen wares, decorative and utility household items (bowls, knife blocks, bookshelves, trays and magazine racks). Rubber wood makes attractive panelling, beading, skirting and edging, and also suitable for parquet and strip flooring. The wood can be cut into small pieces, glue laminated and used for production of items such as steps, railings, and balusters for stairs, door and window components. The rubber chips are converted into particleboards, cement boards and medium density fibreboard and used for furniture components such as table tops, chair seats, back rests and ceiling panels.

Picture 1 Rubber wood Products

5.0 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

In order to facilitate the private sector involvement as well as to encourage increased investment in forest plantations, a National Committee on Forest Plantation Development with full participation by the private sector was formed in April 1992 to

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formulate a national strategy and action plan for the promotion and effective implementation of the forest plantation programmes. In this context, the Government of Malaysia has provided fiscal incentives by granting full tax exemption under the Pioneer Status for ten years or 100% tax exemption under the Investment Tax Allowance for five years respectively, effective from 29 October 1993 for forest plantation establishment undertaken by the private sector. These incentives for full tax exemption under the pioneer status and investment tax allowance were extended to fifteen and ten years respectively in may 2003.

To further encourage the private sector to establish and develop forest plantations, additional incentives were granted by the Government in January 2002, besides those granted under the Pioneer Status and Investment Tax Allowance, to enable private company undertaking forest plantation projects to offset qualifying capital expenditures, such as in the clearing and preparation of land, planting of timber seedlings, provision of plant and machinery, building of access roads and bridges, and construction or purchase of buildings, against income from other business sources of the company under Schedule 4A of the Approved Agricultural Projects. The rotation cycle for the 75 approved species varies from a minimum of 6 years to a maximum of 50 years depending on the type of species planted, while the minimum area planted should be at least 50 hectares.

Notwithstanding this, on 21 May 2003, the Government of Malaysia has also provided further incentives to encourage the establishment and development of plantation forests by the private sector through the “New Strategies Towards Stimulating the Nation‘s Economic Growth”, where under the “Group Relief” a company is allowed to reduce its tax burden by offsetting its losses from profit of another company within the same group. In addition to the qualifying capital expenditures as allowed under Schedule 4A of the Approved Agricultural Projects, companies are also allowed to include expenses incurred in pre-operating activities, such as:-

(i) preparation of the Forest Management Plan, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report etc.;

(ii) fees related to the procurement of timber certification; (iii) surveying work; and (iv) enrichment planting, silviculture, pest and diseases control and fire management.

These major incentives for forest plantation establishment and development are provided under the Promotion of Investment Act, 1986, Income Tax Act, 1967 and “New Strategies Towards Stimulating the Nation’s Economic Growth” announced by

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the Government on 21 May 2003. In addition to the incentives provide by the Federal Government, several state governments are currently providing incentives in terms of low land premium and annual rent for companies undergoing forest plantation projects in the states concerned.

6.0 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

It is known fact that timber tree species require relatively require relatively long gestation period to reach maturity from the day of planting. It varies from 5-7 years for pulp wood and 15-20 years for the production of general utility timber. During the long gestation period, very little or no income is generated, except from the thinning operations. Unfortunately, limited number or no existing commercial banks are willing to provide loan for investment in forest plantation programme. The establishment of forest plantations is high risk and required very high initial capital outlays. Substantial funds are also required for land preparation, procurement of planting material, labor cost for panting and tending activities as well as infrastructural developments. With all of the above incentives provided by the federal government, many potential investors claim that these incentives are insufficient and not attractive enough to bring investment in forest plantation.

Research and development (R&D) in forest plantation is paramount important for a successful plantation programme. It is crucial to determine the most suitable timber species that would ultimately generate substantive revenue from commercial establishment of forest plantations. There is a need to further conduct focus and intensified research on an identified promising species for forest plantation covering comprehensive information on the silvics and silvicultural characters as well as intensifying tree breeding and improvement programme. R&D is most eminent in species/clonal selection, genetic breeding, nursery tending and the economics and development of silvicultural techniques for each species planted. More often, logs produced in the rubber production have relatively smaller diameter which giving rise to high harvesting and processing costs. In addition the bulk of the wood only suitable for low value products, e.g MDF and chipboard, whereby a small percentage is good or saw log quality. Hence, R&D for rubber forest plantation needs to focus on agronomic and cultural practices to produce maximum wood with more emphasis on higher financial return

Land availability and land tenure ship is another important issue related to forest plantation establishment. A study conducted by Malaysian Timber Council has

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indicated that areas available for future plantation development are very limited as well as scattered in small fragment sizes which are not economical. It is clear that new establishment of forest plantation must be outside the Permanent Reserved Forest. This is similar in case of rubber where the small and fragmented nature of the smallholdings, in addition to its remote location poses difficulty in ensuring fuller utilization of the available rubber wood from replanting activities, thus not attractive for economic harvesting of the timber.

Investment into forest plantation establishment also involves a labor intensive venture which requires readily supply of stalled labor workforce to carry out wide ranges of forest plantation activities. In the Malaysian situation, the use of machineries for forest plantation establishment is rather limited due to terrain conditions. However, heavy reliance on foreign workers poses a problem of a high turn over rate to other sector.

7.0 STRATEGIES FOR THE WAY FORWARD

In Malaysia, forest plantation development will continue to form an important component of the sustainable forest resource of the country. In this regard, it is essential to ensure that forest plantation will supplement the future wood supply in order to safeguard the prosperity of the timber industry. In view of these, the following strategies have been outlined as the way forward.

7.1 Enhancement of Sound Policy and Legislation in Promoting the Development of Forest Plantation

Recognizing that there is an urgent to address the issues and challenges arise from forest plantation, there is a need to formulate a National Forest Plantations Development Policy as well as practical action plan for further enhancing and strengthening the implementation the forest development programme. The policy must provide clear objective and direction for the establishment of forest plantations in the country.

In order to facilitate the process, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities has been given the responsibility to formulate policy for forest plantation establishment. In view of that, the National Task-Force for Forest Plantation Development was formed and it comprises of members from both the government and private sectors. This Task-Force is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities. In order to facilitate the Task-Force two (2) Technical Committees has been formed. The Technical Committee on Forest Plantation Development focus on the various technical aspects of forest plantation establishment,

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amongst other’s the selection of species, management and silvicultural regimes adopted and the potential market for the end-products. Meanwhile, Financial Committee on Forest Plantation Development has been given the task to look into the financial aspects of forest plantation such as potential financial incentives as well as physical incentives.

Similarly, several state governments in Peninsular Malaysia are also taking proactive steps in the development of forest plantation whereby special committees are formed to coordinate and to process land application for forest plantation project. In the case of Pahang, some 17,000 ha of land have been identified to be developed by private sector for plantation establishment. The State of Sabah has also taken a major policy shift in promoting the participation of the private sector in the implementing of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). One of the policy action plans is aggressive reforestation programmes, which include Industrial Tree Plantation (ITP).In the Sustainable Forest License Agreement (SFMLA), which was signed between the State Government and the SFMLA holder, there are clauses in the SFMLA that allow the SFMLA holder to develop part of their area for ITP. As at 2007, the cumulated total area planted under the forest plantation programme in Sabah is approximately 189,910.29 ha (Forestry Department Sabah, 2007). In Sarawak, the Government has amended the Forest Ordinance to allow for the issue of license by the Forest Department for “tree plantation rights”. The amendments provide for the establishment of planted forests, principally on state land, including shifting cultivation areas and with the consent of its registered proprietor, also on alienated land. Subsequently, coupled with the introduction of the Forests (Planted Forests) Rules 1997, the private sector has been very keen to be involved in the forest plantation programme.

7.2 Providing Attractive Incentives to Further Encourage the Participation of Private Sector

To further enhance the participation of private sector in the forest plantation establishment, the government needs to provide further financial support for future expansion of forest plantation areas. In view of that, under the Financial Commercial Forest Plantation Development Programme, a sum of RM 1.045 billion has been allocated by the Government for the purpose covering two phase from 2006- 2008 amounted to RM180 million, and second phase from the period 2007-2011 involving RM 865 million. The programme covers investors from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak and open to government agencies, private and public companies.

For this purpose, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities and Malaysian Timber Industrial Board have established Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on 13 Feb.

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2006 known as Forest Plantation Development Sdn. Bhd. This SPV will manage and handle the channeling of the available fund in the form of soft loans to the respective companies or agencies involved in the programme. In addition, the SPV is responsible for monitoring and auditing the progress of the forest plantation establishment. It offers to the Malaysian public listed companies with a minimum of 51% local equity and registered under Companies Act 1965 (non listed should have 100% Malaysian owned), minimum paid up capital of at least RM500,000 (MTC, 2008).

In Peninsular Malaysia, the location of the project must be located either on state land or alienated but not on Permanent Forest Reserve or areas that have been gazetted for conservation and water catchments purposes. The companies shall have a minimum of 2,500 ha for planting of rubber species, 15,000 ha of Acacia and other species. The loan is based on 3.5% interest rate (compounded annually during grace period and shall be compounded daily for 5 years after the grace period). Loan period is 20 years, grace period 15 years and payback period of 5 years. Under the programme, the government has set a target to establish 375,000 ha of plantation forests within the period of 15 years. Currently, 14 companies have been approved loan amounted to RM254 million to finance the development of the forest plantation covering an area of 56,435 ha (Zaini,2008).

7.3 Intensify Effective Research and Development

In order to ensure that the forest plantation development program continued to be successful, further R&D works are needed to enhance the knowledge base on various aspects of forest plantation establishment and management Thus, it is essential that an integrated research covering evaluation of the existing selected potential species as well as improved quality planting materials need to be further strengthened. At the same time, new approaches need to be developed such as “mixed-crop planting”, “multi-storied forest” and suitable agro forestry model. The establishment of forest plantation must also take into consideration the current concern for environmental and biodiversity conservation. In addition, effective management and sivicultural regimes for both production and protection purposed including appropriate defensive mechanism against pest, disease and forest invasive species outbreaks are pursued. In this regards, “A Manual for Forest Plantation Establishment in Malaysia” has been produced which provide information that is useful toward the establishment of forest plantations in the country. Subsequently, this manual will be expected to be regularly updated as research and plantation experience progress in the future.

In the case of rubber, the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia collaborated with the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) to establish a pilot rubber wood forest plantation

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using several potential clones specifically of ‘Timber Latex Clone’ since 1990. To date, a total of 1,831 ha of pilot rubber wood forest plantation have been established in Peninsular Malaysia. Early results indicated that RRIM2000 series clones have shown good performance in terms of growth and form. Currently, MRB has produced and selected latex timber clones and timber clones suitable for the production of both latex and timber or timber only based in group one and group two in the MRB planting recommendation. In addition, “Rubber Forest Plantation” guide has been produced to provide information’s on the production of high quality planting materials as well as on the agronomic practices on planting and managing the plantation and the economic of a rubber forest plantation.

7.4 Harnessing the Carbon Sequestration Potentials in Forest Plantation Development

The role of forest plantation as carbon sinks offers interesting opportunities for the establishment of new forest plantations for sequestrating carbon. Under the Kyoto Protocol which was negotiated in December 1997 requires that developed countries as a group reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5% compared to 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012. It also recognizes forests, their soils and products in climate change mitigation. A forestation and reforestation were recognized as the only eligible land uses under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM is one of the three flexibility mechanisms in the Kyoto Protocol enables developed countries to achieve a portion of their emission reductions by implementing carbon sequestration projects in developing countries as well as to help developed countries meet their reduction targets cost – effectively. In this context, the private companies may consider investment under this approach.

8.0 CONCLUSION

The quest for establishment of well managed forest plantation in Malaysia is progressing as advocated in the numerous strategies and actions taken to promote it development. In moving forward, new approaches are needed in order to accelerate further the development of forest plantation in the country. In this regards, the government, industries, research institutions, bankers and the investors would have to work together concertedly to make it a reality. Ultimately, the government needs to play it role in establishing the enabling environment and providing attractive incentives as well as other inputs to the investors. In return, the latter will invest in full confidence and committed to the sustainability of the forest plantation development program in the country.

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REFERENCES

Abdul Rashid, A.M. 1998. Review of recent technologies in processing and utilization of rubber wood. Pp30-36 in Abdul Rashid, A.M & Lim,S.C. (Eds.) Proceedings of the Colloquium on Rubber wood Resources and Technologies, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong, 52109 Selangor

Ang, C.S. 2008. Economics of Rubber Forest Plantation. Paper presented at the Seminar Perladangan Hutan Getah Kebangsaan 2008: Sumber Penting Bekalan Kayu-Kayan Masa Hadapan, Kuala Lumpur, 13-14 November 2008.

Food Agriculture Organization 2001. Non-forest tree plantations, by W. Killmann. Forest plantations thematic paper series. Rome. (unpublished).

Forestry Department Sabah. 2007. Annual Report 2007. 148pp. MTC.2008. MTC Guidebook: Incentives for the Wood-based sector. MTC, Kuala

Lumpur. Zaini, I. R. 2008. Programme Ladang Hutan Secara Komersial. Paper presented at the

Seminar Perladangan Hutan Getah Kebangsaan 2008: Sumber Penting Bekalan Kayu-Kayan Masa Hadapan, Kuala Lumpur, 13-14 November 2008.

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Information on Situation of MyanmarTeak,

Hardwood & Rubber Plantation in Brief

Soe Yee Export Marketing & Milling Department Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Forestry, Union of Myanmar,E-mail: gmexport@myanma.com.mm

1. INTRODUCTION

Myanmar, a tropical country in continental south East Asia, Lies between Latitudes 9˙ 58' to 28˙ 29' North and longitudes 92˙ 10' to 101˙ 10' East. The country has a total land area of 676 , 577 Km2. The country's length from south to north is about 2090 km and the maximum width from west to east is about 805 km. The country has four important river systems, flowing in the north-southerly direction, of which the Ayeyarwady River, the main waterway, is navigable for about 1.450 Km.

The country is bordered by Bangladesh and India on the north-west, China on the south-east, Laos and Thailand on the south-east and the Bay of Bengal on the south and west

Most parts of Myanmar lie within the tropic, the Tropic of centre passing through the country about a hundred and fifty kilometers north of Mandalay. She enjoys three seasons: the wet, the cold and the dry.

The wet season is from mid-May to October end. During this period the south-west monsoon brings rain from the Bay of Bengal. The coastal regions receive about 500 centimeters of rain, the Ayeyarwady delta, about 250 centimeters and hilly regions about 200 cm. Central Myanmar which lies within the rain shallow of the Rakhine Yoma receives about 50 to 75 centimeters of anmual rainfall.

The cold season is from early November to late February when temperatures in the south of the country may drop to 15.5˙ C. In other areas the cold is more intense.

The hot season comes before the rains. Temperatures in the south are around 37.75˙ C but those in the central Myanmar may be as high as 43˙ C. Myanmar's seasons, soil and water are suitable to grow forest well.

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2. CONSERVING FOREST RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT

Myanmar is regarded as land of diverse culture, traditions and natural resources. It is endowed with one of the largest forest covers in the region. More than half of the country is still covered with closed forests, which have been well managed under the Myanmar Selection System ( MSS ). Forest resources play a dominant role in improving the socio-economic life of the people of the nation. The country is the world's prime supplier of natural teak (Tectonagrandis) which is one of the pillars of the state's economy. About 75% of the total population of 52 million live in rural areas and its growth rate is 1.84% .

Myanmar produces Timber for the Domestic Market and for Export, While conserving the soil and water of the forest environment. Myanmar's Economy is Agriculture -Based and, therefore and water conservation and maintaining the environmental stability are of prime importance not only for the forestry sector, but also for agriculture sustainability.

3. FOREST POLICY (1995 )

( i ) Protection Protection of soil, water, wildlife,

biodiversity and environment. ( ii ) Sustainability Sustainability of forest resources to insure

perpetual supply of both tangible and intangible benefits accrued from the forests for the present and future generations.

( iii ) Basic Needs Supply the basic needs of the people for fuel, shelter, food and recreation.

( iv ) Efficiency Efficiency to harness, in the

social-environmentally friendly manner, the full economic potential of the forest

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resources. ( v ) Participation Participation of the people in the

conservation and utilization of Forests. ( vi ) Public Awareness Public awareness about the vital role of

the forests in the well being and social-economic development of the nation.

4. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE

The Ministry of Forestry consists of 5 governmental institutions, of which four are primarily concerned with forestry, as follows. ( i ) Forest Department ( FD ) is responsible for protection,

conservation, of natural forest, Plantation and sustainable management of forest resources.

( ii ) Myanma Timber Enterprise ( MTE ) is responsible for timber

harvesting, milling, downstream processing and marketing of forest products.

( iii ) Dry Zone Greening Department ( DZGD ) is responsible for

reforestation 0f degraded forest lands and restoration of the environment in the dry zone of central Myanmar.

( iv ) Planning and Statistics Department ( PSD ) is responsible for

coordinating and facilitating the task of FD, MTE and DZGB following the directives the Ministry of Forestry, and acts a forum on policy issues in forestry.

5. FOREST COVER AREA OF MYANMAR.

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( 000 ha ) Percent Closed Forests 25,841.00 38.19 Open Forests 9,426.90 13.93 Total Forests 35,267.90 52.13 Other Wood Land 11,435.30 16.90 Other Land (including water bodies) 20,954.70 30.97

Total Land Area 67,657.90 100.00

6. SPECIAL TEAK PLANTATION PROGRAMMER ( STPP )

Initiated by Ministry Of Forestry STPP was formulated by Forest Department in 1998 with a rotation of 40 years. Annual planting rate of 20,000 acres and at the end of 40 years (2038 ) a grand total of 8,000,000 acres of teak plantation would be established. FD estimates that after the year 2038, sustainable annual production from 20,000 acres of special teak plantation would be as height as 1.8 million cubic meter. This does not even include earlier returns from thinning operations.

7. COMMUNITY FORESTRY INSTRUCTIONS

Community forestry Instructions were issued by FD in 1995 and marked a significant development in the aspects of partnership, participation and decentralization in managing the forest in Myanmar. The instructions grant the local communities tree and forest land tenurial rights for an initial 30-year period, which is extendable. FD provides land, technical assistance and plays the leadership role in the exercise of community forestry.

8. PRIVATE TEAK PLANTATION POLICY

As per Forest Law ( 1992 ), " A standing teak treed wherever situated in the state is owned by the state, " In the past time establishment of teak plantation and extraction, trading of teak is entirely done by governmental agency.

In the recent time, the government allows local investors to establish teak plantations. This is the great opportunity for local entrepreneurs and also chances to establish joint ventures with foreign farms.

Government leases the forest land to plant teak in 40 years. The cost for land is only

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500 kyat per acre per year for Myanmar national. The outturn of teak from plantations is shared between government and private in the patio of 25:75 respectively.

9. PROCEDURE FOR PRIVATE TEAK & HARDWOOD PLANTATION

Rubber plantation investor has to propose to Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation. Other Procedures are the same as above.

10. EXPENDITURES

The expenditures for Teak plantation are shown in table (1). The total cost is about US$ 985 per acre.

11. TURN OVER OF TEAK PLANTATION

The rotation for teak plantation is fixed at 40 years and thinning operations are carried out at, tenth seventeen, twenty fifteen and thirty-fifth years. But, depend on the site quality and plantation treatment thinning can be carried out as early as this schedule.

The outcome from teak plantation is shown in table (2) and (3). It is estimated that the

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average income from teak plantation is about US$ 170,670 per acre.

Profit (One Acre ) US$ Õ Income From plantation 170,670 Õ Private owner Ratio 75% 12,8003 Õ Expenditure 985 Õ Gross Profit 127,018 Õ Profit cost ratio 1 : 129

12. EXPENDITURES ( ONE ACRE ) TABLE ( 1 )

1. Land survey & Clearing 260 USD 2. Nursery & Plantation 200 USD 3. Plantation Area Maintenance 525 USD Total 985 USD

13. TIMBER OUTCOME FROM TEAK PLANTATION TABLE (2)

( Initial Plant One Acre = 540 Trees ) Thinning & Clear-Felling

Sr No Years

No of Main Crops

No ofTrees

CircumferenceSize (Inches)

Height(Feet) Timber

Poles &

Tons

Total

1 Initial Tree 490-540 - - - - - -

2 10 years 122 121 19.8 inches 59 feet - 9.6 9.6

3 17 years 90 32 27 inches 76 feet 0.2 10.4 10.6

4 35 years 73 17 40.5 inches 99 feet 9.6 39.1 48.7

5 40 years 65 8 44 inches 104

feet - - -

6 After years 0 65 - - 65 74.4 139.4

Total 74.8 133.5 208.3

Table ( 3 )

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14. INVESTMENT RETURN FROM TEAK PLANTATION

( Initial Investment One Acre = 985 USD )

15 CONCLUSION

The estimation makes on minimum price based on the current market. We expected to get more at the time of extracting teak. Although establishing teak plantation is long term activity, it is not only rather profitable for us but also ensuring enough raw material to wood based industries.

In the recent time, the foreign investors are allowed establish teak Hardwood & Rubber Plantations with local partner.

16. SITUATION OF WOOD BASED INDUSTRY IN MYANMAR

Government Sector Myanmar timber enterprise (MTE ) - Saw Mils [ 91 ] Furniture Factories [ 5 ] Plywood Factories [ 5 ] Moulding Factories [ 3 ] Block Board Factory [ 1 ]

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Private sector - Saw Mils [ 258 ] - Plywood Mils [ 5 ] - Precutting Saw Mils [ 1479 ] - Small finished product factories [ 1588 ]

17. MYANMAR TIMBER EXPORT & SALE SITUATION ( 2003 - 2008 )

(i) Government Sector

( Tons)

Teak logs Teak Conversions

HardwoodLogs

Teak Value Added

Products Total No. Year

Ton Ton Ton Ton Ton

1 2003-2004 215535 22323 357718 9815 605391

2 2004-2005 250007 33341 462919 15722 761989

3 2005-2006 272732 30059 589144 21271 913206

4 2006-2007 294282 19707 602142 27145 943276

5 2007-2008 232544 19836 724436 27018 1003834

(ii) ( Private Sector )

No Fiscal Year Teak Conversions

Hardwood Logs

Hardwood Conversions

1 2003-2004 13280 160871 10592

2 2004-2005 11163 207137 6983

3 2005-2006 19655 254651 14141

4 2006-2007 19593 200213 9636

5 2007-2008 21726 154514 12106

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18. POTENTIAL SUPPLY & DOMESTIC DEMAND PROJECTION FOR TEAK Supply Projection( Hoppus Ton)

Yields from Year AACs from NaturalForests (Vol.) N.T.Ps (Vol.) S.T.Ps (Vol.)

Total (Vol.)

Domestic Demand

(Vol.)

2001-2002 226,924 189,173 416,097 131,300

2002-2003 226,924 218,670 445,594 132,607

2003-2004 226,924 200,800 427,724 133,919

2004-2005 226,924 203,400 430,324 135,238

2005-2006 226,924 214,133 441,057 136,563

2006-2007 226,924 213,870 440,794 137,894

2007-2008 226,924 187,853 414,777 139,231

2008-2009 226,924 273,270 500,000 1,000,194 140,572

2009-2010 226,924 272,768 500,000 999,692 141,919

2010-2011 226,924 327,382 500,000 1,054,306 143,271

2011-2012 226,924 297,359 500,000 1,024,283 144,628

2012-2013 226,924 205,415 500,000 932,339 145,989

2013-2014 226,924 285,397 500,000 1,012,321 147,355

2014-2015 226,924 334,185 500,000 1,061,109 148,724

2015-2016 226,924 349,905 740,000 1,316,829 150,097

2016-2017 226,924 392,646 740,000 1,359,570, 151,474

2017-2018 226,924 204,907 740,000 1,171,831 152,854

2018-2019 226,924 197,998 740,000 1,164,922 154,237

2019-2020 226,924 182,214 740,000 1,149,138 155,622

2020-2021 226,924 234,034 740,000 1,200,958 157,009

2021-2022 226,924 233,729 740,000 1,200,653 158,398

2022-2023 226,924 224,565 740,000 1,191,489 159,789

2023-2024 226,924 189,353 856,000 1,272,277 161,181

2024-2025 226,924 121,194 856,000 1,204,118 162,574

2025-2026 226,924 171,767 856,000 1,254,691 163,967

2026-2027 226,924 190,509 856,000 1,273,433 165,360

2027-2028 226,924 206,593 856,000 1,289,517 166,753

2028-2029 226,924 231,595 856,000 1,314,519 168,145

2029-2030 226,924 134,750 856,000 1,217,674 169,535

2030-2031 226,924 130,655 856,000 1,213,579 170,924

Total 6,807,720 6,820,089 16,268,000 29,895,809 4,527,129

Note (1)N.T.Ps refer to Normal Teak Plantation. (2)S.T.Ps refer to Special Teak Plantations.

(3)Final yields cannot be obtained from both normal and special teak plantations during the master

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pln period Yields mentioned in the above table are volumes from the posts.

19. POTENTIAL SUPPLY AND DOMESTIC DEMAND PROJECTION FOR OTHER HARDWOODS AND PIN

Supply Projection ( Hoppus Tons ) Hardwoods Pine Year AACs from Natural

Forests (Vol.) N.T.Ps (Vol.) S.T.Ps (Vol.)Total (Vol.)

Domestic Demand

(Vol.)

2001-2002 2,879,560 44,127 4,165 2,927,852 1,166,632

2002-2003 2,879,560 60,944 9,896 2,950,400 1,185,529

2003-2004 2,879,560 83,944 15,356 2,978,860 1,204,739

2004-2005 2,879,560 79,690 13,260 2,972,510 1,224,265

2005-2006 2,879,560 46,566 15,085 2,941,211 1,244,115

2006-2007 2,879,560 43,082 2,865 2,925,507 1,264,149

2007-2008 2,879,560 19,994 5,975 2,905,529 1,284,512

2008-2009 2,879,560 42,198 3,635 2,925,393 1,305,208

2009-2010 2,879,560 39,728 5,205 2,924,493 1,326,243

2010-2011 2,879,560 47,828 9,297 2,936,685 1,347,622

2011-2012 2,879,560 42,695 10,929 2,933,184 1,366,980

2012-2013 2,879,560 39,964 10,451 2,929,975 1,386,607

2013-2014 2,879,560 50,413 9,948 2,939,921 1,406,505

2014-2015 2,879,560 53,828 20,867 2,954,255 1,426,679

2015-2016 2,879,560 70,789 23,757 2,974,106 1,447,132

2016-2017 2,879,560 65,735 17,530 2,962,825 1,466,147

2017-2018 2,879,560 47,925 25,083 2,952,568 1,485,394

2018-2019 2,879,560 52,935 6,853 2939,348 1,504,874

2019-2020 2,879,560 39,615 8,647 2,927,822 1,524,591

2020-2021 2,879,560 52,425 7,297 2,939,282 1,544,546

2021-2022 2,879,560 51,000 8,203 2,938,763 1,562,889

2022-2023 2,879,560 48,963 9,700 2,938,223 1,581,423

2023-2024 2,879,560 43,068 9,700 2,932,328 1,600,150

2024-2025 2,879,560 37,719 8,950 2,926,229 1,619,072

2025-2026 2,879,560 42,477 9,553 2,931,590 1,638,190

2026-2027 2,879,560 38,850 13,945 2,932,355 1,654,538

2027-2028 2,879,560 40,980 13,795 2,934,335 1,671,017

2028-2029 2,879,560 39,480 10,900 2,929,940 1,687,626

2029-2030 2,879,560 51,670 28,690 2,959,920 1,704,366

2030-2031 2,879,560 55,720 22,240 2,957,520 1,721,236

Total 86,386,800 1,474,352 361,777 88,222,929 43,552,976

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Note:(1) Final yields cannot be obtained from hardwoods and pine plantations during the mast plan

period; (2) Yields mentioned in the above table are volumes from posts.

20. SOME FACTS FOR FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF MYANMAR. Sr No Items Particulars

1 Types of EconomicActivities Allowed

. Cultivation, producing, processing and marketing of seasonal agricultural crops

· Establishing plantations, producing, processing and marketing of their produce

· Establishing agro-based industries to produce value-added agricultural products

2 Types of Investment

· 100% Foreign Investment (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited company)

· Joint-venture between the foreigner and a citizen (minimum foreign capital 35%)

· Joint-venture between the foreigner and a state-owned enterprise (minimum foreign capital 35%

3 Minimum Amount of Foreign Capital

• •

For Industry : US$ 500,000 For Services : US$ 300,000

4 Indicative Land Rentals (per acre per annum)

Perennial crop cultivation on fallow land US$ 8Crop cultivation on deep water land US$ 8Crop cultivation on fallow land in dru zone US$ 15 ( 1 hectare = 2.471 acre )

5 Period of Land Occupancy

Up to 30 (Thirty) years which can be expanded another 30 years depending upon the types of project.

Sr States and divisions Area (000 ha)

Suitable for Rubber

1 Kachin 4,312 139 2 Kayah 76 3 3 Kayin 237 64 4 Chin 3,109 - 5 Sagaing 5,661 5 6 Tanintharyi 4,331 244 7 Bago 730 198 8 Magway 221 - 9 Mandalay 1,073 -

10 Mon 444 265 11 Yangon 55 44 12 Shan 2,851 360 13 Ayeyarwady 462 51

6 Potential Fallow Land and Waste Land Available for Foreign Investment

Total 23,733 1,468

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21. RUBBER AREA OF MYANMAR

( 2007-2008 ) Financial Year

Sr State / Division Acres 1 Kachin 29747 2 Kayar 111 3 Kayin 106703 4 Chin 15 5 Sagaing 4240 Total Ares Trees / Area Total Trees

6 Taninthayi 172734 939700 x 200 = 187,940,000

7 Bago (East) Bago (West)

70758 16 % total are above 30 years age. Therefore, ready to felling for rubber wood = 30,070,400

8 Magawe 42 10 Trees = 1 H / Ton 9 Mandalay 203 30070400 Trees = 3,007,040 H / Ton

10 Mon 379765 11 Yangon 34962 12 Rakhain 22228 13 Shan (North) 40931 14 Shan (East) 64919 15 Shan (South) 347 16 Ayerawaddy 11995

Total 939700

22. FUTURE SITUATION OF RUBBER WOOD INDUSTRY

As shown in the table , Myanmar has been encouraging to establish Rubber Plantations to fulfill the Industrial demands for local as well as abroad. Through the technical know-how in Rubber Wood Industry is not yet developed much, within a few years, this Industry has to be promoted by the assistance of those who have already experienced.

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Rubber Plantation in Nepal

Udaya Raj Sharma Resource Development Initiative Center, Kathmandu P.O.Box 6944, Kathmandu,Nepal Email Udayasharma@yahoo.com

Abstract: 1970 marks the genesis of rubber plantation in Nepal . The first rubber plantation on a commercial scale was started in Sanischare, Jhapa district in an area of 50 acres in 1970. This was conducted on an experimental basis by an entrepreneur Jaya Prasad Dhakal . Plantation of rubber is relatively small and has not expanded and is constrained by lack of conducive Government policy. 90 per cent of rubber is imported even though the country has the ability to produce all the needs domestically and be self reliant.

Government rubber promotion policy will enhance the production and productivity of rubber by ensuring conducive environment and providing incentives , financial support and education

Rubber should be considered priority commercial crop which can increase revenue and generate direct and indirect employment to rural population and reduce migration to the cities in search of jobs

1 INTRODUCTION

Nepal is a landlocked multiethnic, multilingual, multi-religious country situated in the lap of the Mount Everest, between India and China. The total land area is 147181 sq km (56136 sq mile). It has in rectangular shape, stretches northwest to southeast between latitude 26o22 N and 30o27 N and the longitude are between 80o4 E and 88o12 E. There is a great variation in the climatic and ecological zone within a short distance of its surface area. It is extending about 885 km in east west and 193 km (130-240 km) wide from north south. Nepal has an extreme range of altitude which ranging from 60 m to the height 8,848-m of Mount Everest.

The total land of Nepal comprises about 14.7 million ha. Out of the total land area agricultural land occupy approximately 27 percent. All the agricultural land is not used under crop cultivation, it is estimated that about 20 percent of the total land is under cropping. Approx. 11.5 percent total land area is occupied by rangelands. Most of the

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rangelands are located in northern belt. About 38.1 percent of the land is under forests and about 4.7 under shrub and burn plantation. The land use pattern is rapidly changing; increasing pressure of human as well as livestock is the major factor for its manipulation.

Nepal’s Climatic diversity is hospitable to a variety of commercial crops including rubber The transformation from cereal to commercial farming began in the early 70’s but took a rapid pace in the late 80s . The commercial crops are popular in the eastern region and there are roads and drainage and the infrastructure for the commercial crops are still to be fully developed. Commercial crops like Tea, Coffee, vegetable and fruits comprise 25% of the total cropping area and it is very recent rubber was introduced. Nepal’s soil and climate is very receptive to the variety of crops. It’s temperate and sub tropical climate is very suitable for a variety of commercial crops.

2 METHODOLOGY

A more pragmatic approah was adopted in garnering information. A combination of retrieving documents and generating new data was used.

3 SITUATION OF RUBBER PLANTATION

Rubber plantation is of very recent history. The first rubber plantation on a commercial scale was started in Sanischare, Jhapa district in an area of 50 acres in 1970. This was conduced on an experimental basis by an entrepreneur Jaya Prasad Dhakal .This marked the genesis of Rubber in Nepal. The climatic conditions, the soil, the drainage, the rainfall all the requirements for a good harvest was existing in Jhapa. The semi tropical climatic conditions was very hospitable to rubber. The result was very promising. This motivated small farmers to diversify to rubber plantation. Slowly rubber plantation was replicated by small farmers and small land holdings came under rubber plantation and expanded to other regions .

With the establishment of Gorakhali Rubber Industry in 1982 rubber plantation expanded to other areas Rubber has the potential to be accorded high priority commercial crop which can increase revenue and generate direct and indirect employment to rural population and reduce migration to the cities in search of jobs

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4 AREA UNDER CULTIVATION AND YIELD PER HECTARE

Rubber plantation is mostly concentrated in the eastern region and the mid western region . This is due to it’s climatic conditions education ,awareness of the farmers and the economic incentives

It accounts for ten percent of the raw materials needed for the production by the only national owned Rubber factory. Most of the rubber is imported. It’s subtropical climate in the southern plains and a slightly elevated area in the mid west and western region provide fertile ground for rubber plantation. Humid tropical climate prevails in the rubber-growing tract. Average annual rainfall in the tract varies from about 2000-4500 mm. The southern parts of the traditional tract enjoy southwest and northeast monsoons almost equally while the northern areas receive mostly the southwest monsoon. From south to north the drought period extends from two to five months in a year and the distribution of rainfall becomes more uneven. However, variation in temperature and humidity in the rubber tract is not so marked as that of the rainfall. The temperature remains very warm and humidity very high throughout the year. Rainfall of 2000 to 3000 mm evenly distributed without any marked dry season and with 125 to 150 rainy days per annum

(1)Maximum temperature of about 29oC to 34oC and minimum of about 20oC or more with a monthly mean of 25 to 28oC

(2)High atmospheric humidity of the order of 80%

(3)Bright sunshine amounting to about 2000 h per annum at the rate of 6 h per day through all the months

(4)Absence of strong winds

Only a few regions in Nepal meet all these requirements. Fortunately rubber can be grown successfully under moderately deviating conditions too. Soil in the rubber tract is generally highly weathered and consists mostly of laterite, lateritic types. Sedimentary types and nonlateritic red and alluvial soils are also seen in some non-traditional areas. The laterite and lateritic soils are mostly very porous, well drained, moderately to highly acidic, deficient in available phosphorus and varying in

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potassium and magnesium content. Red soil found in some areas is characterized by reddish to brown colour and fine loamy texture. This soil is generally acidic and highly deficient in available phosphorus. Soil in the rubber tract is generally highly weathered and consists mostly of laterite, lateritic types. Sedimentary types and nonlateritic red and alluvial soils are also seen in some non-traditional areas. The laterite and lateritic soils are mostly very porous, well drained, moderately to highly acidic, deficient in available phosphorus and varying in potassium and magnesium content. Red soil found in some areas is characterized by reddish to brown colour and fine loamy texture. This soil is Well-drained soil is essential for optimum growth and yield of rubber plants. In marshy areas, owing to poor physical properties and waterlogged conditions growth of rubber is always found to be very poor.

More than 80 percent of the area Under rubber in Nepal is accounted by small holdings. Average land holding is 0.5 acre .

The rubber plant is not a native plant of Nepal. It was promoted with the establishment of Gorakhkali Rubber factory The largest plantation is 50 acres in Jhapa. The agro-climatic suitability of the plantations and their potential for producing high volumes of quality latex made the government further extend the effort all over the state.

In Nepal rubber is attaining more and more importance The possibility of showing an increasing trend in area under rubber is very promising

At present 88 percent of the total area under rubber belongs to Eastern region in Jhapa district State and 10 percent of Nepal’s production is located in the western region . It is also worth mentioning that in convention of area under other crops to rubber is possibility of attacking place with a high pace, probably due to high returns, needs to devise attractive incentives offered by the Government and socioeconomic reasons,. In Jhapa nearly 20,000 hectares have the potential to of being converted to rubber crop annually if provided incentives, the adequate environment, subsidy and education and training .

In Nepal rubber is generally grown in the lowland and mid lands and major portion of small holdings are adjacent area. The small holdings under rubber in Nepal are mainly homestead planting. This will include buildings other crops etc. These homestead plantations are lying adjacent to each other. But they may not have uniformity in age and management.

Gorakhali Rubber Industry RUL is the only truck tire and tube manufacturing facility

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in Nepal designed to produce 88,000 large size tyres a year under the technical cooperation with the PRC. The major raw materials are rubber and various chemicals to be imported from the international market. The major source of supply are imported from China,Russia,Korea and India. It’s commercial production started in 1982. 90% of the raw materials are imported from India. It has the capacity to produce 1200 metric ton of rubber per year and it consumes 100 metric ton at a time. .

The yield per hectare 1796 kilograms.

Raising more than one crops along with a particular plantation crop not only reduce the gestation period but also ensure steady and higher farm income even in the period of slump. Seasonal crops like vegetables in the formative years of the plantation crops and permanent crops like orange, are canut, agar, tree beans, black pepper, gooseberry etc. could be grown in the matured plantation to augment productivity and profitability. Intercropping also stands as insurance against crop failure and price slump.

5 RESOURCES, PROCESSING, PRODUCTS, UTILIZATION

Rubberwood's properties, especially its light color and easy machining will continue to make it a popular substitute for wood from increasingly scarce natural forest trees. Modern heat/steam/vacuum systems have largely mitigated the problems associated with the wood' latex content.

Environmental concerns in consumer markets will increasingly shift preferences to wood products obtained from plantations. This will give rubberwood an advantage over some of the more traditional tropical woods used in furniture and wood-based panel manufacturing. Recent strides in rubberwood plantation certification confirm this development. On the other hand, rubberwood has to be able to compete with increasingly abundant softwood plantation species .

Rubber tree planting programs are effective and yields high economic returns when it is accessible, and is supported by policy Rubberwood supplies can provide the investment security necessary for expanded rubberwood utilization.

Rubber plantations are owned or managed by two main groups of landowners:

Smallholders and small estate. Smallholders hold the majority of rubber plantation areas only 12 % are managed by and owned by estate ownership . In terms of size, smallholders' plots vary from 2.5 to 5 ha, while estates are generally 50 ha

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6 OBSTACLES TO INCREASED RUBBERWOOD UTILIZATION COMPRISE:

There are numerous barriers to increased rubber utilization. Among the most important is Rubberwood's susceptibility to insect and fungal attacks that will continue to make it economically unviable for the majority of rubber producers. Increased accessibility will only come with general socio-economic development, particularly in the transportation sector.

Trends in the ownership structure indicate that an increasing share of rubber will be produced by smallholders. Their difficulties in profitably utilizing rubberwood will likely bring about shortages where demand outstrips what estates can supply· Localized supply shortages and associated price developments may end rubberwood's comparative advantage over other wood species. Since rubberwood comes in small sizes, it is suitable for the wood-based panel industry. Competition for rubberwood between furniture and panel manufacturers may lead to further price hikes.

7 POLICIES OF THE GOVERNMENT

While Rubber was introduced much earlier in neighboring countries which helped them understand the needs and aspiration and significance of the rubber Industry and facilitated the devise of the rubber friendly policies and programs

The genesis of Rubber in Nepal is relatively young and the potential for promotion is very promising. Due to many factors rubber has not received the attention of the Government

There is a lack of clear rubber specific policy to promotion of rubber. The Government is committed to introduce conducive policy for the promotion of rubber.

Finance is the life blood of the Industry and Industrial Bank's financing to modernize and enhance the productivity is in the policy agenda of the Government.

There is a need to adopt an integrated approach for rubber development. The approach aimed at expansion of area under rubber and creation of processing and marketing facilities . Since rubber is a relatively new crop in the region, strong extension support is required by the farmers to help them adopt scientific agro-management practices. Training to farmers, distributing inputs giving financial assistance for boundary protection, establishing group processing centers, supplying rubber rollers, rubber sheeting rollers free of cost, and other incentives. .

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Status of Rubberwood Processing and Utilization in

the Philippines

Felix B. Tamolang Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), College Laguna 4031 Philippines E-mail: mt2data@hotmail.com

Abstract: This paper presents the current status of rubberwood as an alternative raw material for traditional commercial timber species in the Philippines. It present available rubberwood resources in terms of regional distribution and supply and their potential commercial value. Processing and utilization technologies generated through research and development conducted in the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) and disseminated to local rubberwood processors and manufacturers in the country is discussed. An outlook on the advantage and constraints including recommendations for its increased processing and utilization in the Philippines are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION

Para rubber, botanically known as Hevea brasiliensis (HBK) Muell.-Arg., belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. The Aztecs of Mexico consider it, in their ceremonies, as the mystical milk that flows from the weeping wood to appease their gods. Raw rubber sap was treasured by many who believed that its elasticity holds the secret of eternal youth.

The species is locally called rubber in the Philippines and no other name has been attached to it. Para rubber, a relatively large tree, occasionally grows to a height of over 30 m (100ft) and usually has a short and tapering stem. The bole is between 3 to 4 m (10 and 15ft) long with a diameters at breast height (dbh) between 46 and 91 cm (1.5 and 3 ft). It is sometimes poorly formed, particularly near the tapping panels.

The leaves are three-lobed with long and narrow segments that taper at each end. The flowers are pale green. Male and female flowers are separately thrown approximately 20 yards away. It is a source of latex. The latex tubes are found in the soft portion of the bark next to the cambium. Located outside the soft bark is hard portion where a comparatively few latex are present. The diameter of the latex tubes is about 0.0381

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mm (0.0015 in. The average diameter of old rubber trees is 25-30cm with a clear bole of up to 10m. Latex-yielding trees have an economic life of 25 to 30 years.

With the dwindling supply of timbers from the natural forests and the increasing utilization of industrial tree plantation species (ITPS) which is about 88% (744,663 cu.m) of the country’s total log production, there is no doubt that rubberwood is a timely substitute to support the wood based industries in the Philippines. Issues to protect the environment coupled by strict requirement of consumer countries of tropical timbers that raw materials for timber must be legally sourced from sustainably managed forest have made ITPS like rubberwood an important timber resource supporting the timber and wood-based industry in the Philippines.

II. DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY

Para rubber is a native of the Amazon Region but is extensively cultivated in Sri Lanka, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia. In the Philippines, it is cultivated in Mindanao, mainly in the regions of Zamboanga Peninsula, SOCSARGEN, ARMM, the provinces of South Cotabato, Saranggani, Basilan and Cotabato, occasionally planted in other islands. Rubber trees occupy about 111,845 hectares in the Philippines (Table 1).

Table 1. Rubber Plantation Areas and Number of Trees By Regionsin the Philippines

Region Area (has.) No. of Trees CALABARZON 227 50,650 MIMAROPA 50 31,500 Zamboanga Peninsula 43,028 16,234,474 Northern Mindanao 4,527 411,456 Davao Region 6,245 1,283,301 SOCSARGEN 31,128 12,470,525 ARMM 21,194 2,498,355 Caraga 5,446 2,466,225 Total Philippines 111,845 35,446,486

At present, there are about 40,000 hectares of more than 25 year-old rubber trees which are considered over-aged in Zamboanga Peninsula, SOCSARGEN, CARAGA and ARMM. in Mindanao. This means around 6.0 million cu m of logs ready for processing if government policy in rubber utilization will be expanded focusing into promotion in the utilization, and marketing of rubberwood products as alternative to the country’s raw material base in support of the raw material needs of the wood-based industries.

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III. POTENTIAL VALUE OF AVAILABLE SUPPLY

The 6.0 million cu m of logs in standing trees if harvested, processed and exported as kiln dried lumber has a potential value of US$ 361 M. This is based on a lumber conversation rate of 30% and exported price of US$ 180/cu.m.

The potential value of the raw materials would be even higher if the lumber is further processed and exported as finished products like furniture, builders, woodworks, novelty items and other high value added products.

Sustained replanting at a rate of 4.0% every year will yield about 5,592 hectares of rubber plantations available yearly. At an estimate 200 to 400 trees per hectare and based on an estimated average yield of 150 cu m per hectare, the country has 668.910 cu m of logs ready for utilization annually.

IV. BASIC PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• COLOR, TEXTURE, GRAIN, ODOR

The wood is cream-colored and the sapwood is not easily distinguishable from the heartwood. After a fresh cut it becomes light brown with pink tinge on exposure. It is rather soft and possesses a characteristics sour smell.

The fibers are medium-sized, about 1.5 mm long with a diameter/width of about 0.022 mm. Cell wall is about 0.0028 mm thick.

The wood of the rubber tree is white to pale cream, sometimes with a pinkish tinge. It becomes light straw to light brown when dried with sapwood not distinct from heartwood.

The wood is moderately coarse to coarse and even textured. It is slightly lustrous. This varies from straight to shallow interlocking. Rubberwood has a characteristic sour smell.

• PHYSICO‐MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 

These are comparable to chose of well-known Philippine hardwoods such as mayapis, red and white lauan, tangile, almon, almaciga and acacia. At an air-dry density of 650 kg/cu m it has the following strength values:

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Table 2. Physico-Mechanical Properties of Rubberwood

Properties (Green Condition) Values

• Relative density (specific gravity) 0.56

• Static bending

Fiber stress at proportional limit (MPa) 23.50 Modulus of rupture (MPa) 46.30 Modulus of elasticity (103 MPa) 6.52

• Compression Parallel to grain Fiber stress at proportional limit (MPa) 10.40 Maximum crushing strength 18.60 Modulus of elasticity (103 MPa) 7.81 Compression perpendicular to grain (MPa) 4.48

• Hardness Side (kN) 3.52 End (kN) 3.29

• Shear parallel to grain (MPa) 6.92 • Toughness (J/specimen) 39.50

• SHRINKAGE CHARACTERISTICS.

From green to 10% moisture content, rubberwood shrinks by 1.6% in the radial direction and 4.0% in the tangential direction. Rubberwood is more stable than almon, batikan, mayapis, tangile, red and white lauan.

• CHEMICAL PROPERTIES Rubberwood has the following chemical composition :

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Table 3 Chemical Composition of Rubberwood

Chemical Composition % • Holocellulose content 69.50 • Lignin content 20.90 • Pentosan Content 19.50 • Alcohol-benzene content 2.90 • Hot water (leached) 5.50 • Hot (unleached) 6.60 • Ash content 1.40 • 1% NaOH 29.90

V. TECHNOLOGICAL AND WORKING PROPERTIES OF RUBBERWOOD

• SAWMILLING CHARACTERISTICS AND PROCESSES

Rubberwood is easy to saw and does not cause significant blunting of the saw teeth. A single saw blade my be used continuously for five hours without the need to resharpen the saw teeth.

Rubberwood, however, has the tendency to warp immediately after sawing. Clogging of the saw teeth with residual latex which requires cleaning from time to time by dabbing the sawblade with diesel fuel.

Sawing can be done in :

• Harvesting site using portable bandsaws or circular saws • At mill site using gang or frame saws or small hand-fed resaws with

pulley diameter of 910 mm or 1100 mm

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Table 4. Production rate and recovery with the use of different types of saws

Type of Saw Production Rate Recovery (%)

Portable Bandsaw: 0.5 cu m/hour 32-46 Portable Circular saw 0.5 cu/hour 30-40 Gang saw 3.4 cu m/hour 62 Band saw 0.5-1.5 cu m/hr 46

• MACHINING

Machine surface is smooth when cross-cut, rip-saw, planed and shaped. It is rough and wooly when bored or turned because of its interlocking grain, presence of compression wood and occasional knots. This is remedied by sanding.

• GLUING

Rubberwood is compatible with poly-vinyl acetate (PVA), urea formaldehyde (UF) and phenol resorcinol formaldehyde (PRF) glues.

Rubberwood is usually available in narrow boards and short lengths but because of its good gluing characteristics, these can be made wider and longer through side glue lamination and finger-jointing.

• DURABILITY

Rubberwood is easily attacked by wood boring insects and staining fungi (blue stain and mold) especially when newly harvested. It easily rots in humid climate. The heartwood is perishable and stains readily. However, it can be treated with fungicides and insecticides. Dipping or spraying with sodium pentachloropenate controls stain, but impregnation of pH preservative is necessary if the timber is to be used anywhere. . Para rubber has a field stake life of less that a year, as shown by the “grave yard” tests conducted at FPRDI.

Warping, bowing, borer attack and stain are likely the be severe unless the timber is

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dipped in chemical solution and then dried under cover with closely placed stickers and the stack weight. End splits are likely to be troublesome. To minimize splitting, the use of an end-coating chemical preparation is recommended

• TREATABILITY

The wood of para rubber is very easy to treat. It can practically be completely penetrated by a preservative using the full cell process of treating wood with the following treating conditions:

Initial vacuum 710 mm Hg Pressure period 2 hrs Pressure 12.60 kg/cm2

Temperature of preservative 88 oC Final vacuum 170 mm Hg for 30 minutes

Fungal discoloration could also be countered and the creamy white color of the wood retained, if oven-dried and kept in sealed containers.

Treatment should be done : • After felling, if it cannot be stored in log ponds or processed within three

days. • Immediately after sawing. • After processing prior to varnishing/painting of the finished products.

Treatment right after felling - For practical and economic reasons, logs are stored in log ponds after harvesting to prevent fungal and insect attack if they cannot be processed within 3 days. If this is not possible the cut ends and exposed areas due to damaged bark should be brushed with 2.0% Captafol or 1.5 to 3.0% borax-boric acid incorporated in Shell Kote 3. This treatment protects the logs for about 4 weeks. Treatment after sawing or before seasoning.

After sawing new surface are exposed to fungal and insect attack. The sawn pieces must be subjected to:

• Prophylactic treatment before seasoning or; • Treatment with effective preservatives after sawing.

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Procedure for prophylactic treatment before seasoning

• Dip the freshly sawn boards, individually or in bundles in the preservative solution for one minute.

• Pile the treated lumber on properly spaced stickers under shade for air-drying.

• Kiln dry the treated lumber when the excess solution has dripped off. What else is required when only prophylactic treatment before seasoning is done

In prophylactic treatment, the preservative is deposited only on the surface of the boards. This is removed during processing as in planning and sanding.

Brush-coat the finished product with pentachlorophenol for further protection. The chemical may be incorporated in the base coat of the finishing material.

Treatment processes for lasting protection

1) Dip or spray freshly-sawn (high moisture content) lumber in a 25-40% weight/volume solution of boron compound preservative such as borax-boric acid, fortified with a suitable fungicide such as TCMTB (1:50) or propiconazole (1:50) or carbendaziem + prochloraz (1:50) and insecticide such as deltamethrin (1:100).

2) Solid-pile the lumber in an air-tight chamber or cover them with plastic sheets

to allow the preservative to diffuse into the wood. The diffusion period to attain deep penetration of preservative and 0.2% boric acid equivalent (BAE) retention for permanent protection takes 10 days to 4 weeks depending upon the thickness of the lumber

Procedure for Vacuum Pressure (Bethel or Full-cell) Process The process involves the impregnation of the preservative solution into the wood by hydraulic pressure in a pressure cylinder.

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• Subject the wood to an initial vacuum of about 600-700 mm Hg for 45 minutes.

• Flood the cylinder with the chemical solution and apply a hydraulic pressure

of up to about 1400 KPa until the required absorption of the preservative is attained.

Preservatives for vacuum-pressure method

• Boron compounds • Synthetic pyrethroids in emulsifiable concentrates such as permethrin, and

cyper-methrin. Points to consider in boron compound treatment

A dry salt retention of 16 kg/cu m can be attained in freshly sawn lumber. No preliminary drying is required. Fungicides should be incorporated because boron compounds are only effective against boring insects. Hot and cold bath process Treatment is done in a steel tank with steam coils at the bottom, or the preservative (borax-boric acid solution) is pumped from the tank through a wood or oil-fired boiler, and back into the tank, the boiler acting as a heat exchanger. A nominal 3.0% borax-boric acid solution is used. Advantage of the hot and cold bath process

Timber can be treated at varying moisture contents. If green, sufficient borax-boric acid is retained at the surface of the timber to diffuse into the core or center of the sawn timber.

If partly dry, thermal expansion and increase in vapour pressure that occur on the heating empty the spaces. On cooling, there is reduced internal pressure which results in replacement of the excluded air and water vapour by borax-boric acid solution. Only one charge of timber can be treated in 24 hours

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• SEASONING OF RUBBERWOOD

Drying characteristics

Rubberwood is moderately easy to dry but it is susceptible to some drying defects like bowing, twisting and spring. The presence of pith in the boards also causes and splitting

Air drying rubberwood

The length of air-drying depends upon prevailing weather conditions.

The following ranges apply in drying green or 60% MC to 17% MC:

25 mm boards 50 mm boards 55-60 days 68-85 days Kiln drying rubberwood From green to 10% MC 25 mm boards 50 mm boards 6 days 10 days

The kiln drying schedules for rubberwood established in the Philippines by FPRDI are given in tables 5 and 6.

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Table 5. FPRDI Kiln Schedule for 25 mm thick lumber

Moisture Content Change %

Dry Bulb Temp. (oC)

Wet bulb Temp. (oC)

Approximate Rel. Humidity %

Initial - 40 40 - 30 30 - 20 20 - 15 15 - final

60.0 66.0 71.0 77.0 82.0

56.0 59.0 60.0 58.0 54

82.0 72.0 60.0 53.0 26.0

Table 6. FPRDI Kiln Schedule for 50 mm thick lumber

Moisture Content Change %

Dry Bulb Temp. (oC)

Wet bulb Temp. (oC)

Approximate Rel. Humidity %

Initial - 40 40 - 30 30 - 20 20 - 15 15 - final

54.0 54.0 60.0 71.0 82.0

51.0 49.0 52.0 54.0 54.0

83.0 73.0 64.0 43.0 26.0

Ways to prevent excessive degrades in rubberwood during seasoning

• Make sure that the stickers are of uniform thickness and evenly spaced at 45 cm.

• Put weights on top of the load at 250 kg/sq m. How to arrest fungal and insect attack in seasoning

Pre-steam the load before kiln drying at 70 C – 100 C and 100% RH for 2-4 hours depending on board thickness to kill mold, staining organisms and insects.

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VI. UTILIZATION OF RUBBERWOOD Uses Suitable Characteristics and Properties Products Furniture

Pale creamy color Attractive figure Good machining and woodworking properties Excellent finishing characteristics

Folding chairs, working chairs, dinning sets, folding tables, garden sets, television cabinets, bar stools, coffee tables and others

Builders Woodworks

Good woodworking properties Attractive grain particularly on tangential face Good finishing characteristics Moderate hardness which makes it suitable for parquet, strip flooring and stair steps

Moulding, balusters, dowels, door and window components, railings, kitchen cabinets, panellings, dividers, parquet flooring

Pulp and Paper

Chemi-thermo-mechanical process with alkaline sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) pre-treatment which produces rubberwood pulp of comparable properties as those of thermo-mechanical pulps produced from softwoods. The pretreatment also reduces the latex content of the wood which is represented by alcohol-benzene extractives

For the production of writing and printing paper, corrugating medium and as a component of newsprint.

Composite board products from rubberwood

Particleboard Wood flakes from off-cuts, trims, slabs, small diameter logs, branches and tops. Blockboard Narrow strips of lumber composed into wide boards by side gluing and then overlaid with decorative veneer. Woodwool Cement Boards Wood flakes or excelsior mixed with cement and mineralizing chemicals and pressed into wide panels of different thickness. It has a wide range of exterior and interior application in the construction industry

Particleboard • Laminated with overlay,

used for desks, tables, cabinets and room dividers

• Moulded; used in the

production of table tops, ceiling panels and moulded chair seats and back rests

Blockboards Wood cement boards Plywood Medium density fiberboard (MDF)

Household and novelty items

Newspaper and magazine racks, bookshelves, chest, carving and chess boards, fruit and salad bowls, jewelry boxes, ash trays, knife blocks, serving trays, spice racks, toys, tea trolleys etc.

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VII. CONSTRAINTS IN THE UTILIZATION OF RUBBERWOOD

Rubberwood has gained popularity and acceptance in the world market as sawn lumber and as furniture and other high value products. This is borne particularly by the Malaysian experience. Rubberwood has inherent characteristics which can pose a problem in its utilization. Research has been addressing these and has come up with acceptable solutions. However, there are still factors that limit rubberwood utilization, namely :

• It is inherently very susceptible to the attack of staining fungi and insect

borers because of its high starch and sugar content. Although solutions to these problems and preventive measures have been identified, the cost of chemicals and putting up treating facilities is a deterring factor in its utilization.

• It is prone to seasoning defects i.e. bowing, twisting, spring which can

however be minimized or prevented through proper handling, stacking and drying.

• Logs are only available in short lengths and small diameter. In furniture

manufacture, however, this is not a limitation because it does not normally require long and wide boards. If it does, the boards can be side glued and finger jointed.

• Existing government policy and program in the Philippines which is limited

to promotion and production of natural rubber /latex. There is no clearcut policy supporting the processing and utilization of rubberwood . .

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• There is an available volume of rubberwood supply which is relatively sufficient and be made sustainable as long as the government promotes and encourages the planting of rubber trees for latex production and promote and encourage its further processing and marketing as additional socio-economic incentive among rubber growers and wood-based manufacturers.

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• The wood has excellent physical and technological properties making it

suitable for the manufacture of a variety of quality finished products and competitive to other wood products in both the local and export markets .

• The technology for processing rubberwood is available in the country and

ready for technology transfer to interested end-users. Successful experiences by other countries like Malaysia, Thailand, China and Indonesia can be readily adopted in the Philippines where processing facilities and skilled manpower are available.

• To ensure a sustainable supply of rubberwood in the Philippines,

loans at low interest rates and attractive investment incentives need to be offered by the government to encourage the establishment of rubberwood processing facilities especially in rubberwood growing regions.

• Implement a strict quality control system. This can be done by requiring

manufacturers, processor and suppliers of rubberwood to register and secure license from an appropriate government agency but only after they have established basic minimum facilities for kiln drying and preservative treatment. Furthermore, no rubber product should be exported unless certified that it has been processed according to a prescribed set of kiln drying and preservative treatment standards.

• These requirements are necessary to ensure that the program promoting the

utilization and marketing of rubberwood in the Philippines is not hampered. Short cuts in preservative treatment and seasoning will adversely affected product quality which will have detrimental consequences to this program

• Enactment into Law the “Creation of the Philippine Rubber Research

Institute (PRRI)” whose functions shall be (a) Propagate and promote the planting, maintenance, as well as wise utilization of rubber trees as source of latex and finished rubber products; (b) Enable rubber producers and processors, especially small-holders, to have access to quality rubber tree seedlings, modern production techniques, and other support services from production to marketing of rubber produce; (c) Undertake training and

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capacity-building programs for rubber producers, processors, and cooperatives in order to increase production of quality rubber and raise level of income especially of poor small-holders; (d)Aid in the establishment of village-based rubber enterprises to generate livelihood opportunities and improve general well-being of the large percentage of workforce in agricultural communities; (e) Promote cooperative development among small-holders and provide them access to resources, technological know-how, as well as decision-making processes for the enhancement of their rubber enterprises and the protection of their welfare;

REFERENCES

1. Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. 2008. Department of Agriculture. 1184 Ben-lor Bldg., Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. Crops Statistics Division371-2067. http:/www.bas.gov.ph

2. FPRDI. 1986. Philippine Timber Series. Para Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg). FPRDI, College, Laguna 4031.

3. Bello. E.D. 1998. Rubberwood processing and utilization. FPRDI, College, Laguna 4031

4. Lapitan, F.G., Alcachupas, P.L. and Quiñones, D.G. 1983. A lumber recovery study of para rubber. Unpublished). FPRDI, College, Laguna.

5. Lew, W.H. and Sim, H.C. 1982. Rubber wood: Present and past utilization. Malaysian Forester, 43(3).

6. Rocafort, J.D. 1983. Relative density and shrinkage values of five trees of para rubber with statistics defining their variability. (Unpublished). FPRDI, College, Laguna.

7. Tamayo, Jr. ,G.Y. 1983. The seasoning of para rubber. (Unpublished). FPRDI, College, Laguna.

8. Tamolang, F.B. and J.E. Rocafort. 1987. Physico-mechanical properties and possible uses of 11 plantation grown timber species in the Philippines. FPRDI Journal 16 (1-3). pp. 75-85.

9. Tamolang, F.B., E.B. Espiloy, Jr. and A.R. Floresca. 1990. Ninth progress report on the strength and related properties of Philippine woods. The Philippine Lumberman. 36 (1). pp. 29-37.

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10. Tamolang, F.B., Espiloy, E.B. Jr., and A.R. Floresca. July 1995. Strength Grouping of Philippine Timbers for Various Uses. FPRDI Trade Bulletin Series No. 4 (ISSN 0117-4045).

11. Alipon, M.A., Floresca, A.R. and Tamolang, F.B. 2000. Shrinkage Characteristics of Philippine Lumber for Uses Requiring Dimensional Stability. FPRDI Trade Bulletin Series No. 6 (ISSN 0117-4045)

12. Moredo, F.C. and F.B. Tamolang. 1993. Report on the Status, Problems and Appropriate Program of Assistance on Rubberwood Utilization for the Cebu Furniture Sector in Cebu, Philippines. ASEAN Timber Technology Centre (ATTC)-FPRDI Industry Advisory and Consultancy Services (IACS) Mission Report. ATTC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (ATTC Study Mission Report)

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The Utilization of Rubber Wood in Thailand

Sunthorn Watcharakuldilok Royal Forest Department, 61 Phaholyothin Rd., Chatuchak， Bangkok 10900, Thailand E-mail:sunthorn35@hotmail.com Songsak Vitayaudom Royal Forest Department, 61 Phaholyothin Rd., Chatuchak， Bangkok 10900, Thailand E-mail:vitayaudom@hotmail.com

1 INTRODUCTION

Thailand occupies a central position in mainland Southeast Asia between latitudes 5o 37’ N and 20o 27’ N and latitudes 97o 22’ E and 105o 37’ E. It covers an area of 518,000 km2. The country is bounded to the west by Myanmar, to the north by Myanmar and Lao P.D.R., to the east by Lao P.D.R and Cambodia, and to the south by Malaysia, Physiographically, the country can be divided into six regions: the mountainous highlands in the north and northwest, the Khorat plateau in the northeast, the Tenasserim range to the west, the central plain, the southeast and the southern peninsula, which lies between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. The upper part of the country, the north and northwest, in dominated by uplands and is the source of the four main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. This river flows southwards through the central plains down to the Gulf of Thailand, into the extensive Chao phraya Delta. The Khorat Plateau of the northeast drains eastward into the famous Mekong River. To the west the mountainous chain of the Tenasserim range remains well-forested.

Thailand’s forestry sector has developed in fairly clearly-defined stages and has recently entered as follows:

1.1Forest sector enrollment

Forest Exploitation Closing Phase (the dawning of a new forestry era.). Starting from the late 1980 that can be characterized by the people’s highly developed awareness of the adverse effects of forest exploitation and by the search of a new forestry agenda. The forest had declined to a point where the nation had to decide that what remains of it must be kept for conservation rather than for further forest exploitation. The timbers were much more importation from abroad than in the past and the domestic timber production also has a few volume. The promotion on private sector on forest plantation has been created in National Economic and Social development plan since

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1987. The promotion on community forest management has been much more realizing to promote on people participation in Nation Forest Management than before.

1.2 Public and Private Engagement

The Royal forest Department has managed virtually all the forestry activities in national forests single-handedly, particularly forest harvesting, forest nature conservation, watershed management forest, forest protection and forest plantations, among others. And the state enterprise, Forest Industry Organization were all involved in forest harvesting and forest plantation, which caused of conflicts on interesting between the different state organizations. Furthermore, the unstable of politics and policies on regulation, long-term investment duration, forest encroachment by poverty people stricken rural community, strong anti forest plantation pressure from environmental Non-Government Organization and not good administrative of the government organization. Early 1990 century, has the role of the private sector forestry activities been recognized. However, the logging ban which was operated by FIO and the Provincial Forest Company Ltd., imposed in 1989 marked a major shift in policy from wood production to forest conservation.

Forest zoning has been directed by the good to have a total of at least 40% of the country under forest cover and of least 25% under conservation forests. These good were set by the 1989 National Forest Policy. However the most recent policy on forest production and forest conservation was stated in the Seventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (1992-1997); in which 40 percent of the country area shall be maintained as forest. (15 percents out of 40 percents forest shall be designated as production forest, producing timber and other forest products.). In the Agricultural Development Plan, a component in the Ninth National Economic and Social Development plan (2002-2006), a goal is to conserve and rehabilitate 30 per cent of the total area of the country. These land are conserving biodiversity area such as national park, wildlife sanctuary and protecting watersheds area. The plan intends to promote the productive forest plantations, private plantation and community forestry covering 32 million rai.. Furthermore, a target area of 1.25 million rai of mangrove forest to be conserved or rehabilitated has been set in the plan.

To solve the forest degradation, the people’s participation are importance in forest management therefore local communities and villagers must now be given the chance to become forest managers, more especially as about 12 million people occupying the national reserve forest. The role of the private sector, and communities in particular, is highlighted in the New Constitution, promulgated on October 11, 1997. This foundation law promotes and safeguards the people’s rights and freedom, increases the

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people’s participating in administration and checking the state power action by awareness the important of the population thinking. To make these ideals operate at the grassroots level, the forestry laws are being revised, one by one.

2. PROCESSING, UTILIZATION & PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Primary processing

In Thailand the small log from plantation being used, has diameter of 4-10 in. on the other hand but log with 8 ins. of diameter is appropriate for sawing. The wood will be cut into short lumber of 1.5-2.0 m. length (small log, diameter 6-9 ins., recovery rate 25-35 %, which bow and split lumber, wood working remain yield 20-25 % of log)

That above dimension of wood is appropriate for some wood products. If big size is required, small lumber should be jointed to bigger the length, thickness, and width dimension. However lumbering of small log less than 5-7 ins. of diameter is possible, but providing a little yield because of a lot of headsaw and lapwood.

To decrease wood failure of small log from growth stress, split and twist, girdling stand tree (to hew a tree around the trunk only to make it dry out) is employed or using chemical spray its leaves for stunting tree. These many techniques to prevent wood failure such as drying wood is a concept to decrease moisture content, for decreasing stress of wood, decreasing split after cutting with tighten by string, flintcoat or printcoat treatment at the end of log, soaking wood in water, cross section at the end of log stamped by S or C iron,

The technique of sawing for small log with balance cutting, sawing right and left distance equal from pith together by twin band saw to release the stress of log equal opposite side can make lumber be straight, no twist. Saw types are balance saw, gang saw, or sash gang saw. (Wisuttitappakul, 1999)

There are many techniques to prevent twist or end split, this technique is used during sawing process by not sawing through the trunk, allowing unleave at the end. Then fasten it with a piece of wire or drive a nail at the end of log. Unfasten it if to be used. Immediately soaking after lumbering 1-2 days, then seasoning can also make a lumber straight, no twist, and no the end split. Another technique is sawing log into the large size lumber, then sawing again into small size or required size if needed.

Piling is important for quality control of lumber for no twist, no bow, and no end split. Piling is done by pressing the top of pile by weight. To adjust bow lumber both of the end of lumber will be supported, then using gravity force pulls it forwards to make a

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straight lumber.

2.1.1 Wood preservation

Usually, fast growing species or small log are damaged by fungus, insects and shipworms. Therefore, it can be used only short period about 1-2 years. Wood preservation can save wood for long period 3-5 times to normal. Technology of wood preservation in Thailand can be divided into 2 types as followings :

2.1.1.1 Non chemical treatment

Techniques employed are as follows: soaking in water, singe, and using wood in open air, employ concrete bed to support poling of house. Moreover, there is a study on termite prevention by embeding gravel at bottom holes before poling.

2.1.1.2 Chemical treatment 2.1.1.2.1 Non-pressure treatment

1) Brush or spray treatment

For wood drying, pole and round wood should be debarked before brushing or spraying chemical substances. Treat all of the trunk or specific at ground level area (below 30-40 cm. and upper 60-70 cm.). Should brush or spray for chemical treatment more than 1 time. Chemical treatment should use oil or water borne preservation for example tar oil, solexnum and other wood oil coat because of permanent into wood.

2) Dipping

Dry wood is more preferable than green wood. 2-3 min. for dipping and then printcoat or lacquer replace again. This method is appropriate for non-permanent or interior wood working.

2.1.1.2.2 Vacuum and pressure treatment

This method use vacuum machine and pressure to put chemical solution into lumber. Normally, this method is for dry lumber, but Rubber wood lumber must be green because of easily damage by fungus and insects. First step of the process is using a vacuum at 500 mm.Hg., 15 min., then increase the pressure and inject chemical solution into lumber at 150-170 lb./sq.in., 45-55 min. (full cell treatment of Rubber wood 1.5 ins. thickness). The favour chemical solution is water borne preservative because it’s cheaper than others e.g. CCA for wood used exterior, spool of electric or telephone wire, and Boron for wood furniture.

2.1.2 Drying

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2.1.2.1 Seasoning or air drying

Moisture content of wood after seasoning is varied. To reduce moisture content to be less than 25 % need a long period. Logs from this method are used for construction e.g. pole, post, and piling of log before wood chipping.

For small log, more than 6 ins., diameter, seasoning in dry season take time 4-6 months for decrease moisture content into 25-30 %. Wood diameter more than 30 cm. should be lumbering before seasoning. Size of pile should be not more than 2 m. width because of lumber at central of pile will be delay dried and damaged by fungus or insects. Piling is not limit of high depend on stability of pile. Space each pile should be not lesser than 30 cm. for air circulated and convenient to transfer or piling.

Pile should be high from ground more than 30 cm. Size of stick for lumber pile is usually used 1 x 1 ins. or 1 x ½ ins. Easily drying and less defect wood species e.g. Teak and SaDuaTium (Azadirachta excelsa (Jack) Jacobs) should be used 1½ x 1½ ins. of stick, and each piece of stick at the same vertical position line. In rain season should be piling under construction or roofing for prevented fungus damage, emphasize Rubberwood and Coniferous sp.

2.1.2.2 Kiln drying

Kiln drying can be control temperature and relative humidity for dried wood and rapidity more than seasoning 10-30 times.

Lumber should be control drying at surface, not rapidity dried. Suitable temperature and relative humidity can be control with kiln drying. If moisture content in wood and surface of wood are difference more than 5 %, wood stress due to wood failure, e.g. bow, case hardening, and honeycombing. But some wood failure occurred from natural property of wood, e.g. grain and age, that fast growing species such as Eucalyptus and SaDuaTium, due to stress in wood, emphasize high growth stress of young tree. That is easily the end split. Therefore, the end of lumber should be printcoat for decreased evaporate moisture from wood. In addition to, piling should be used stick at the end of lumber and pressed on the top by weight.

2.2 Secondary processing 2.2.1 Furniture part

Sawntimber from plantation is limited to used widely , furniture parts are most suitable to utilize because of its dimension and stress which occurred during their growth and drying process.

2.2.2 Wood – based panels manufacturing

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The most suitable products from small log that harvested from plantation are as follow. 2.2.2.1 Wood chip 2.2.2.2 Fiberboard 2.2.2.3 Pulp and paper manufacturing. 2.2.2.4 Charcoal production

Charcoal in Thailand produced for household by local people. It’s produced with soil or rice husk mound and mud beehive. Commercial charcoal produced usually with brick beehive. Now, lapwood of Eucalyptus from plantation widespread produced charcoal and briquett for export. In addition to, activated carbon produced from charcoal for industry.

The need of development of further processing technology

1. Proper machinery for small log 2. Small log Utilization Technology 3. Improvement of wood quality and properties.

3. MARKETS FOR PLANTATION TIMBER PRODUCTS

3.1 Previews

The Royal Thai Government has limited potential to undertake the difficult task of improving forest management and simultaneously conducting reforestation activities. The private sector has demonstrated commercial fast growing tree plantation. Factors that need to be taken into consideration in preparing a reforestation program involving the private sector and small holders include the following:

3.1.1 Legislation laws

The problem relevant laws and policies relating to forest plantations which do not support the forest plantation development are :

a) The Re-Afforestation and concerning regulation are difficult to practice and they are not cover all of kind of tree species.

b) The establishing of the wood industry and distributing wood product, which are from forest plantation, of the wood industry must practice under the Forestry Law 1941. Including, there are restriction on the establishment of mills in all provinces ( aside from 10 central provinces).

c) Renting the degradation National Reserve Forest Land for forest plantation has much criteria and limit within 50 rai.

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d) Some timber species are not able to able to export.

3.1.2 Investment in Forest Plantations.

A problem regarding the investment in forest plantations by rural farmers is that they have insufficient funds available for investing in long-term activities. The money required to support forest plantations from the Royal Forest Department – is limited. As a result, many farms are modest in area, and tend to be less profitable.

Propose solutions include providing sufficient funds from the Government budget to encourage investment by farmers in forest plantation either as direct financial incentives or as soft loans. Agroforestry systems should also be encouraged. Funds should also be provided to encourage the establishment of more sawmills.

Those 2 factors that might effect sawlog as the raw materials to the industries direct and indirect ways. Until the raw materials from plantations are sustainable, wood market will become more active and achieved the wood market profitably.

3.2 Wood marketing

The problems related to wood market include an absence of local and central markets; a lack of controls on bargaining prices by farmers when selling their products; a lack of small wood processing technology; a lack of good deside and development; and a poor understanding of sustainable forest management.

Propose solutions include promoting wood marketing through the establishment of local and central markets; promoting to sell the wood such as manage on wood marketing database, setting the future market; and setting the marketing fund; providing funds to encourage research and develop wood product deside; establishing an organization to certify sustainable forest management in forest plantations and certify the wood products.

4. OVERVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS

Thailand covers a land area of 51,311,502 hectares with a population of approximately million. Forest areas are about 12,972,200 hectares of 25.28 % which are conserved for environmental balance. However, forest degradation and deforestation still occur in some part of the country due to poverty, low agricultural productivity and skewed land distribution. RFD has launched many projects to increase forest lands to 40% of the whole country such as reforestation project, community forest project etc. As the government is trying to increase the forest area, the need to use timber, wood and forest products still remain.

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Constaints caused by the Private Sector, Particularly Farmers

A majority of rural farmers lack in-depth knowledge on forest plantations, including financial analysis of forest plantation investment, forest plantation management, the legislation concerned with forest plantation, and working and methodologies to co-operate together. In number of farming areas which are insufficient in size to accommodate forest plantations.

To solve these constraints, training modules must be initiated to increase farmers’ knowledge about all aspects of forest plantations, namely financial analysis on forest plantation investment, forest plantation management, the legislation concerning with forest product designs and the concept of cooperatives. Strengthening of the agencies involved in extension, timber marketing promotion and wood utilization should be undertaken. The farmers should be encouraged to become more organized, among themselves, nominating representatives to liaise with government officials. Extension training among farmers themselves should be promoted. Agroforestry systems and cooperative businesses in forest plantation should be actively encouraged, particularly in areas were farms are small. The establishment of transfer technology centers at the provincial/ district level should be undertaken.

Productivity in the wood industry sector showed a marked decline in the years following the logging ban. Regarding productivity in the wood industry, there has been rapid growth in the value of rubber wood, which has generated into an industry in its own right. An estimated 5 million m3 of rubber wood were produced in 2001. Besides rubber, very modest volumes of teak are produced annually, predominately provided by FIO; in 2001, 47,242 m3 were produced.

Rubber wood is cutting from plantation for 5 million cu.m / year. This wood is used for furniture and wood based panels industries. Eucalyptus plantation, approximately 480,000 hectares are the major source for pulp and paper industries. Teak plantations promoted 10 years ago to private lands have reached an amount of 96,000 hectares and provided wood for furniture and flooring industries. The trend of using Teak from plantation is also increasing.

For wood industry, concerned factories should have their own plantation for wood supply. There are two groups private companies who own their plantations. They promote farmers to be their member to plant fast growing species to supply the factories, especially Eucalyptus for pulp and paper. The government also promotion the farmers to establish forest plantation cooperatives in provincial level.

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Machining and Coating Properties of Plantation

Rubberwood in China

Zhao Youke Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, P. O. Box 18, Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail:youke.zhao@caf.ac.cn Jiang Xiaomei Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, P. O. Box 18, Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail: xiaomei@caf.ac.cn Lu Jianxiong Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, P. O. Box 18， Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail:jianxiong@caf.ac.cn

Abstact: In order to fully utilize the rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) as a solid wood product, the machining (including planing, sanding, boring and shaping) & coating properties (adhesion and wearability of coating), have been tested on the specimens from 27 rubberwood trees grown in Hainan, China according to ASTM DF1666, D3359-93 & GB/T17657-1999 method. The results showed that the machining and painting properties of rubberwood are all excellent and within the Grade I range, which is better than that of furniture common used species such as oak, walnut and birch. Therefore, from the aspect of machining & coating properties, the rubberwood is good for solid wood products such as furniture and flooring.

Keywords: rubberwood, machining properties, coating properties

From the word rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis), it can be seen that the important productions of rubberwood are rubber and wood. General speaking, the rubberwood tree has a 25-to-30-year-long period of latex production, and after that it is no longer economic to produce latex but its trunk can be utilized as wood for economic purpose. Nowadays in China, the rubberwood trees are planted in Hainan, Yunnan Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Taiwan. In which, the south part of Hainan and Xishuang Banna in Yunnan are 2 of the most suitable places for growing rubberwood and therefore have the biggest planting areas. Statistic shows the annual production of rubberwood in China is around 1 million m3, which is an important part in wood supply.

As we all know, rubberwood is very susceptible to fungi and insects due to high

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content of carbohydrates in parenchyma cells, the preservation of the rubberwood has attracted a lot of attentions, and so far, rubberwood could be well preserved. This provides a basic need for the utilization of rubberwood for solid wood products. In this situation, the utilization of rubberwood for more value-added products such as furniture and flooring drives people to systematically study the properties of rubberwood, including the mechanical properties, coating properties and machining properties. This paper evaluates such machining & coating properties.

1. MATERIALS AND METHODS

1.1 Materials and methods

Totally 27 rubberwood central lumbers with 2 meters in length, 45 mm in thickness and 35 years in age from 27 rubberwood trees grown in Hainan have been selected for machining & coating properties assessment after drying in Hainan Nongken timber Co. The properties of 4 common wood-working operations used in the manufacture of wood products such as planing, sanding, boring and shaping are assessed respectively using ASTM D1666 method[2002] which divides the quality into 5 grades according to the degree of defects and the impact of defects on the following machining process:

Grade I: Excellent (no defects)

Grade II: Good (light defects which can be eliminated by light sanding)

Grade III: Fair (some obvious defects which can be eliminated by sanding)

Grade IV: Poor (deep and big defects which is hard to eliminate)

Grade V: Very poor (prohibited to use)

For each grade, the related point is given, namely 5 points for Grade I, 4 points for Grade II, 3 points for Grade III, 2 points for Grade IV, 1 point for Grade V. The planing, sanding, boring and shaping assessment is based on the points which equals to the sum of the proportion of each grade multiplied by related points of each grade. According to the calculated points, the related grade is estimated (excellent (4-5 points), good (3-4 points), fair (2-3 points), poor (1-2 points), and very poor (<1point)).

The specimen size and the amount of testing specimens are listed in Table 1.

The adhesion of coating is tested according to ASTMD3359-02[2002], in which, a cross-cut is made through the coating film by a multi-edges cutter to the substrate, pressure-sensitive tape is applied over the cut and then removed, and adhesion is

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assessed qualitatively on the 5 grades as described in Table 2 The wearability of coating is tested according to Chinese National Standard GB/T17657-1999. In this test, a Taber wearability testing machine is used and the wearability was accessed based on the weight loss per 100 rotates. The weight loss ≦0.08 g is accessed as Grade I, >0.08 g and ≦0.1 g as Grade II, >0.1 and ≦0.15 g as Grade I, and >0.15 g as Grade IV (not qualified). Like the assessment on machining properties, the similar point is given for different grade, and same method is adopted for the calculation of the quality points.

Table 1 specimen size and amount for testing machining properties

Manchining items thickness×width×length（mm） Specimen amount（pieces）

Planing 19×102×910 27

Sanding 11×110×400 27

Boring 19×76×510 27

Shaping 19×76×510 27

Table 2 Classification of adhesion results

Grade ASTM Classification

Description

5B The edges of the cuts are completely smooth; none of the squares of the lattice is detached. I 4B Small flakes of the coating are detached at intersections; less than 5 % of the area is affected.

II 3B Small flakes of the coating are detached along edges and at intersections

III 2B The coating has flaked along the edges and on parts of the squares.The area affected is 15 to 35 % of the lattice.

IV 1B The coating has flaked along the edges of cuts in large ribbons and whole squares have detached. The area affected is 35 to 65 % of the lattice.

V 0B Flaking and detachment worse than Grade 1.

In this test, 3 coating processes were adopted. The first process is to brush the water-soluble coatings 3 times, the second one is to brush polyester coatings 3 times, and the third one is to brush the water-soluble coatings twice and then to brush polyester coatings once for the outer coating.

1.2 Equipment and parameter

Planing: KUW-500F1 automatic feeded 2 faces planner. According to ASTM, just one face is planned each time, only the top spindle is used. In the test, keep the knife parameters stable, the front cutting angle is 20°,the knife wedge angle is 39°,

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planing thickness includes 1.6mm and 0.8mm, the knife marks per inch is 48. according to the equation: Feed speed=(Number Knives×RPM)/( KMPI×12×25.4), the feed rate is 7.94m/min.

Sanding: WS-65 wide belt sander, the automatic feed rate is 5.8m/min, the sanding thickness is 0.3mm. Sand twice with 120 grid sand papers.

Boring: B13S bench borer, the spindle rotation rate is 3600r/min, boring bit diameter 20mm, drill perpendicular to the surface of species, feed rate keeps slow and even, during the process, a same species board is close contact under the specimen to reduce the possibility to occur the defects.

Shaping: MX7320 straight shaper, the rotation rate is 8000r/min. specimens were bandsawn to pattern before conducting on the shaper. .Each specimen is shaped in up milling way.

2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

2.1 Machining properties 2.1.1 Planing

Planing is one of the most common and also the most important operation for wood products. The defects caused by planing will have a negative influence on the latter operations in the wood-working manufacture.

With the stable feed rate, the points for 0.8mm (4.82) is higher than that of 1.6mm (4.52) (Table 3), and both of them are in range of Grade I (excellent).The surface of planing existed only a few of fuzzy grain (Fig. 1).

Table 3 Planing results of different planing thickness

Planing thickness

Grade I proportion（%）

Grade II proportion（%）

Grade III proportion （%）

Quality points

1.6mm p 40.74 3.70 4.52

0.8mm 81.48 18.52 0.00 4.82

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Fig. 1 Planing surface: Left - Grade I specimen; Right -Grade II specimen with fuzzy grain

2.1.2 Sanding

Sanding is essential for a good coating. A good surface roughness resulted from good sanding is readily to be well painted, while sanding defects will influence the finishing of wood products. The surface roughness has relations with not only wood but also the types of sand paper.

Results showed, the proportion for Grade I (excellent) and Grade II (good) specimens is 59.26% and 40.74% respectively , the quality point 4.59, which is within the Grade I range (Table 4). The main defect is fuzzy grain. The difference between Grade I and Grade II is not distinct (Fig. 2).

Table 4 Different Grades and quality grade of sanding, boring, and shaping

Items Grade I proportion（%） Grade II proportion （%） Quality points Sanding 59.26 40.74 4.59

Fig. 2 Sanding surface: Left - Grade I specimen; Right -Grade II specimen with slight fuzzy grain

2.1.3 Boring performance

Boring is a common operation for the wood structure joint. The bored hole should be round without any noticeable distortion and the inner surface should be smooth for

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good glue bonding.

As shown in Fig. 3, Grade I and Grade II of boring is similar to that of sanding, the quality Grade value is also 4.59, showing an excellent boring property (Table 5).

Fig. 3 The torn grain and light fuzzy grain could be hardly see showing an excellent boring properties

Table 5 different Grades and quality Grade of sanding, boring, and shaping

Items Grade I proportion（%） Grade II proportion （%） Quality points Boring 59.26 40.74 4.59

2.1.4 Shaping

Shaping is the most common method in furniture manufacture. By means of which, the value of the products could be increased in a large extent.

In this test, the specimens is the same as that in sanding test, in order to shape on the 2 ends of one specimen, the length is 510mm, which is longer than that in ASTM. As seen from table 6, the proportion for Grade I and Grade II is 66.67% and 33.33% respectively, the quality points is 4.67, suggesting an excellent property in shaping.

From Fig. 4, it can be seen that most specimens are defects free, a few with fuzzy grain and burned surface.

Fig. 4 Most of specimens are defect free, a few with fuzzy grain and burned surface

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Table 6 different Grades and quality Grade of sanding, boring, and shaping

Items Grade I proportion（%） Grade II proportion （%） Quality points Shaping 66.67 33.33 4.67

From Fig 5, it could be concluded that the rubberwood machining properties, including planing, sanding, boring and shaping are all in the range of Grade I (excellence), suggesting that the rubberwood could be easily processed with the machine, which is good for solid wood products.

0 1 2 3 4 5

Planing

Sanding

Boring

Shaping

Fig.5 Rubberwood machining properties (excellent (4-5 points), good (3-4 points), fair (2-3 points), poor (1-2 points), and very poor (<1point)

2.2 Coating properties 2.2.1 Adhesion of coating

Test results of the adhesion of coating test from 3 different processes are shown in table 7.As for the adhesion of coating performance, the third technique is the best, and its quality points is 4.78.

The second most is the first technique, whose quality level value is 4.33, these two are both of excellence level, and the third is inferior to the former two, with the quality level value 3.44, which means good.

Table 7 The adhesion properties of 3 coating processes

Coating Processes Grade I(%) Grade II(%) Grade III(%) Quality points The first 44.44 44.44 11.11 4.33

The second 0.00 44.44 55.56 3.44 The third 77.78 22.22 0.00 4.78

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2.2.2 Wearability of Coating

From the test results of wearability of coating (table 8), it is concluded that the wearability of coating of the first and third process is excellence ,with the quality points 5.00 and 4.33 respectively, the quality points of wearability of the second process is only 0.67, among which 77.78% of the products are unqualified (table 7).

Table 8 The wearability of coating of 3 different coating processes

Coating Process Grade I（%）

Grade II（%）

Grade III（%）

Grade 4（%） Quality Points

The first 100.00 5.00 The second 22.22 77.78 0.67 The third 33.33 66.67 4.33

Viewing from the combination of adhesion and wearability of coating, both the first and third process is t excellent in coating properties.

2.3 Machining properties and evaluation of coating quality

The machining and coating properties are very important for solid wood products such as furniture and flooring. In order to better understand the machining and coating properties of rubberwood, they are compared with that of the main common used wood species for furniture, such as oak, walnut and birch [Hou Yinyi et al. 2006; Jiang Jinhui

2005 ].

From table 9, it concluded that the machining and coating properties of rubberwood are excellent, better than that of oak, walnut and birch.

9 GENERAL CONCLUSION

The machining and coating properties are all excellent and within the Grade I range, which is better than that of furniture common used species such as oak, walnut and birch. Therefore, from the aspect of machining & coating properties, the rubberwood is good for solid wood products such as furniture and flooring.

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Table 9 Comparison of machining & coating properties between rubber wood and others

Items Rubber wood Oak Walnut Birch

Proportion of Grade I & II 100 100 93.3 100 Planing Properties excellent excellent excellent excellent Proportion of Grade I &II 100 100 100 96.88 Sanding Properties excellent excellent excellent excellent Proportion of Grade I &II 100 100 100 100 Boring Properties excellent excellent excellent excellent Proportion of Grade I &II 100 82.8 90 96.7 Shaping Properties excellent good excellent excellent Proportion of Grade I &II 100 100 -- 100 Adhesion Properties excellent excellent excellent Proportion of Grade I &II 100 100 -- 100 Wearabi-

lity Properties excellent good good

REFERENCE

ASTM D 1666 – 87 (Reapproved 1999). Standard Methods for Conducting Machining Tests of Wood and Wood-Base Materials. 2000

ASTM D3359-02. Standard Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Test. 2002 Hou Yinyi, Jiang Xiaomei, Gao Jianmin, Yin Yafang. Study on machining properties of

Eucalyptys urophylla x E. grandis. II. Shaping, Boring, Mortising and Turning. Chinese Forestry Science and Technology. 2006, 5(2): 17-21

Jiang Jinhui. Evaluation of Butula alnoides and Castanopsis hystrix plantation wood for furniture and decorative utilization Master degree dissertation. Chinese Academy of Foresry. 2005

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Rubberwood preservation by friendly preservatives

Jiang Milingliang Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail:jiangml@caf.ac.cn Wang Zhijuan Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China, 100091

The most important rubber producing countries are Indonesia, Malaysia,Thailand, China, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines. Rubberwood can be used for making a wide range of products: rubberwood-based panels (particle board, plywood, MDF, etc.), furniture and joinery products; floor tiles and parquet, moldings,etc. Rubber tree is mainly distributed in Hainan Island, Xishuangbana, Yunnan province and the western part of Guangdong province in south China. China is short of timber. Making full use of the timber can solve the problem to a certain extent.

The fresh felled rubberwood is very susceptible to fungi and insects in sub-tropical area due to high content of carbohydrates in parenchymatous cells. The common preservative, a mixture of boric acid, borax and sodium pentachlorophenol (BBP), was widely used by the treating plants in Hainan and Yunnan Provinces. But today sodium pentachlorophenol is not encouraged for lumber treatment since it is highly toxic to human and animals and it is strictly restricted or prohibited in some countries. The procedure of treating rubberwood with preservative containing only boric and boric acid quickly followed by kiln drying is encouraged to be adopted by the industries in China. At present, rubber trees are usually felled, sawn into lumber, and the lumber impregnated and dried within about 7 to 10 days in most rubberwwood processing plants in China. Few operators sprayed the logs with preservative; this could be the cause of the rather frequent occurrence of blue-stains which seriously affects the quality and value of the sawn lumber. As Hainan Island and coastal southern regions of China are prone to hurricane which could further delay delivery of logs to processing facilities, temporary protection of logs using cost-effective preservatives should be developed and promoted.

1 RUBBERWOOD DEGRADATION

Freshly cut rubberwood is very susceptible to mold and stain fungi, due to the relative

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high content of carbohydrate (such as starch) in the tissues and the high moisture content. When rubberwood is dried, mold and stain fungi stop occurrence.

1.1 Insects

Fresh or seasoned rubberwood is easily attacked by termite and insect borers mainly from bostrychidae (powder post beetles), platypodidae (ambrosia beetles), scolytidae (ambrosia beetles) and lyctidae (powde rpost beetles). Ambrosia beetles attack fresh logs and fresh sawn timber, but powder post beetles prefer seasoned timber and finished woodwork producing a fine powder from bore holes and tunnels. Platypodidae and scolytidae are the main insect pests of freshly felled rubberwood logs, fourteen species of platypodids and 51 species of scolytids were identified infecting green rubber wood according to FRIM report.

1.2 Stain and mold fungi

Fresh felled logs and timber are susceptible to stain fungi belonging to fungi Imperfecti. Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. is the common fungi responsible for the bluish color of rubberwood. The hypha is found both in fiber and vessel lumina.

A variety of molds can live on the surface of rubberwood, these fungi thrive on carbohydrades in the parenchymacells of rubberwood, and they do not breakdown lingo-cellulosic components of the wood, so they do not affect the strength of the wood.

2 TREATING METHOD FOR RUBBBERWOOD

Untreated fresh rubberwood log and timber is susceptible to stain fungi, which discoloration of the wood, and insects which reduce the quality and durability of timber. So rubberwood should be treated, especially for furnisher making. The log should be cut into timber in 3 days, otherwise, fungicides and insects should be applied for temporary protection.

The timber should be treated by pressure or diffusion process promptly after it is cut for preventing stain fungi and insects. Rubberwood protection is classified by temporary protection and long-term protection.

2.1 Fungicides and insecticides for the temporary protection

Commercial fungicides and insecticides for agricultural uses may also be used for bamboo temporary protection. Some insecticides are included: deltamethrin, cypermethrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, fipronil, Chlorfenapyr, etc. Some fungicides are listed as: chlorothalonil, copper oxine, MBT,

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TCMTB, Carbendazim, benomyl, IPBC, isothiazolinone, fenpropimorph, quatery ammonium chloride, propiconazole, etc.

The fungicide formulations should be in emulsions, solutions, wetable power. Contents of active ingredients and user’s guide for the suitable concentration and strength should be included on the label of the containers.

Commercial fungicides and insecticides can be choosed according to their availability and effectiveness by the processing plants. Sodium pentachlorophenol is not recommended for its high toxic. And its use has been strictly restricted or prohibited in some countries such as Japan and some European counties.

Pentachlorophenol is generally not acceptable internationally due to its high toxicity. It also contributes to the severe corrosion of the drying kiln components and turning wood into brown.

2.2 Long-term protection, preservatives and treating schedule

When the rubberwood is dried, no stain and mold fungi as well as decay fungi occur but power beetles can attack it, so diffusion process or pressure treatment allow the preservative to be fully penetrated into sapwood and give long term protection. Boron is the common preservative for vacuum pressure treatment for its high diffusion ability. The treated products can only be used indoor circumstance for it is leachable in rain.

The schedule of vacuum pressure of treatment is described as follows:

Table1 Schedule for the rubberwood Vacuum / Pressure treatment

Phase Vacuum / Pressure (Mpa) Duration (min) Initial vacuum 0.083-0.099 30-45

Pressure 1.2-1.4 60-120 Final vacuum 0.053-0.086 10-20

The treating schedule will depends on the length of the timber and the moisture content of the timber before treatment. During the vacuum pressure treatment, the MC of timber may be 50-100%.

Appendix I Laboratory test of Antistain and Antimold Formulations Five types of stain fungi were isolated from blue-stained Pinus massoniana Lamb., Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litu., and Hevea brasiliensis (rubberwood) and identified as Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat., Fusarium verticillioides(Sacc.)

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Nirenberg, Trichoderma harzianum Rifai, Trichoderma viride Pers., and Penicillium purpurogenum Stoll in the previous work, all these fungi are classified to Deuterornycotina.

A lot of literatures on chemical control of stain fungi have been reported (Lakes and Woods 1992, Wakeling 1997, etc). Since the active ingredients in some fungicidal formulations are commercially available, inhibition zone test of some formulations for controlling stain fungi isolated from some Chinese sapwood was conducted in this paper. The aim is to seek some potential alternatives to sodium pentachlorophenol, which is still used in China for controlling wood sap-stain some by sawn mills.

1. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

1.1 Fungal species and their characteristic Five fungal species were identified as：

Bt: Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat., Fv: Fusarium verticillioides(Sacc.)Nirenberg, Th: Trichoderma harzianum Rifai, Tv: Trichoderma viride Pers., Pp: Penicillium purpurogenum Stoll.

All the 5 fungi are capable of growing under the temperature range from 10 to 35℃, and Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. is even able to grow at 40℃, the optimum growth temperature is from 24 to 28℃. The 5 fungi are basically able to grow on medium with pH value ranging from 2 to 11. More specifically, PH value from 3 to 8 was suitable for their growth, and the optimum PH value varied from 5 to 7, it seemed that staining fungi tended to grow favorably in acid environment. There were no apparently differences in the growth and staining patterns for the fungi growing under three illuminate conditions.

1.2 Fungicidal formulations for stain control Fungicidal formulations were selected for the screening test (Table 1).

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Table 1: Fungicidal formulations for the stain control test

Formulations Common name Formulation types CTL Chlorothalonil Emulsion

CBZ Carbendazim 50% wetable power

Benomyl Benomyl 50% wetable power

BAC Dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride Water solution

Cu-8 Copper oxine Acetic acid solution

DDAC Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride Water solution

PPZ Propiconazole Emulsion

TEB Tebuconazole Emulsion

1.3 Method for stain control

Fig 1 Method for stain control, inhibition zones by fungicides

According to test method of Drug Compendium appendix XI A (2000) of China, 6mm filter papers were sterilized in Petri dishes. The papers were fully soaked in fungicidal formulations, and the excess formulation was removed. Then the papers were put into the Petri dish in which PDA as media and the button was fully covered and well-distributed by fungus Petri dishes were cultivated at 26-28℃. After fungus growth for 3-5 days and the hypha were apparently visible, the diameters of the inhibition zones were measured. 3 replicas (Petri dishes) for each formulation at each concentration test and the diameter data were calculated on the 3 replicas.

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2. RESULTS

CBZ and benomyl as well as copper oxine alone are much high efficacy for inhibiting most of the above 5 fungi than CTL and quaternary ammonium chloride alone, in which CBZ and benomyl have similar inhibiting result to the 5 fungi (Table2). DDAC and BAC have also similar effect to the 5 fungi, PPZ has almost no effect to 4 fungi at the above concentrations (Table2), and TEB is relatively efficacy than PPZ at the same concentration to the test fungi.

The fungicidal effect of some mixtures from CTL, DDAC, Cu-8 and benomyl were better than the single chemical. CTL did not apparently increase the inhibiting effect of copper oxine by testing the mixture of CTL plus copper oxine (Table 3), and 0.5% CTL apparently increase the inhibiting effect of 0.5% DDAC to the 5 fungi except for Trichoderma viride by testing the mixture of CTL and DDAC (Table 3). 0.1-0.5% DDAC apparently increase the inhibiting effect of all CBZ formulations to Botryodiplodia thelbromae Pat. (Table 3).

0.01-0.08% copper oxine apparently increase the inhibiting effect of benomyl to the 5 fungi except for Trichoderma viride by test of the mixture (Table 4), and 0.01-0.5% DDAC apparently increase the inhibiting effect of benomyl formulations to the 5 fungi (Table 4).

The result from the inhibition zone is almost coincided by the following test of wood chips treated with fungicides and inoculated by fungus.

3. CONCLUSIONS

It is concluded from the test of inhibition zone that:

1) CBZ and benomyl as well as copper oxine alone are much high efficacy for inhibiting most of the 5 fungi than other formulations;

2) The fungicidal effect of some mixtures of CTL, DDAC, Cu-8, Benomyl and were better than alone. CTL increase the inhibiting effect of 0.5% DDAC to the 5 fungi except for Trichoderma viride, and it did not increase the inhibiting effect of copper oxine;

3) 0.01-0.08% copper oxine and 0.01-0.5% DDAC increase the inhibiting effect of benomyl to most of the 5 fungi.

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Table 2 The diameter of inhibition zone by formulations (mm)

FormulationsConcen-trationsof a. i.

Bt Fv Th Tv Pp

0.05% 0 12.8 11.7 8.2 9.5 0.20% 7.4 14.1 12.2 10.3 11.1 CTL 0.50% 9.1 14.7 12.7 12.1 13.5 0.001% 36.6 0 16.5 20.0 29.6 0.005% 39.2 12.0 21.4 25.5 32.8 0.010% 40.1 14.9 22.1 26.0 36.5 0.02% 40.6 17.7 23.0 22.5 38.4 0.10% 41.2 21.0 25.3 26.8 40.3

CBZ

0.20% 43.6 24.4 28.4 29.8 42.6 0.80% 8..5 14.1 11.0 16.3 22.3 1.60% 11.9 17.5 12.7 18.1 24.2 BAC 2.00% 13.2 19.9 13.9 19.6 25.9 0.001% 32.4 0 18.7 11.4 27.8 0.005% 35.5 6.5 19.1 19.2 29.8 0.010% 37.0 9.6 19.4 20.0 30.0 0.02% 38.1 10.8 20.3 13.1 30.6 0.10% 40.7 16.6 22.3 25.5 35.6

benomyl

0.20% 50.6 21.2 29.4 28.7 38.3 0.005% 0 0 0 13.6 10.8 0.010% 9.1 0 0 17.6 13.9 0.040% 13.5 11.0 0 21.1 18.9 0.08% 21.3 16.4 14.3 19.7 22.9 0.20% 24.2 21.4 14.8 22.6 28.1

Cu-8

0.50% 41.1 30.3 17.4 31.5 36.2 0.80% 12.0 15.1 12.1 10.6 20.8 1.60% 13.1 16.4 13.4 11.1 23.1 DDAC

2% 13.4 18.0 13.9 11.9 29.0 0.005% 0 0 0 0 0 0.010% 0 0 0 20.0 0 PPZ 0.020% 0 0 0 21.9 0 0.005% 0 7.1 0 0 12.7 0.010% 0 13.2 0 13.2 16.6 TEB 0.050% 0 20.9 12.4 18.5 17.0

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Table 3 The diameter of inhibition zone by formulations (mm)

Formulations Concentrationsof a. i. Bt Fv Th Tv Pp

0.2%+0.2% 20.1 24.1 11.9 12.5 30.2 0.5%+0.2% 25.6 18.5 13.5 12.8 31.0 CTL+Cu-8 0.5%+0.5% 33.0 29.9 16.3 20.4 41.8

0.05%+0.5% 14.7 18.1 18.0 9.5 23.0 0.2%+0.5% 18.0 19.6 23.9 11.5 40.6 CTL+DDAC 0.5%+0.5% 49.1 27.5 27.9 12.7 52.7

0.01%+0.01% 21.4 14.1 28.2 32.5 41.5 0.01%+0.05% 22.3 18.9 28.9 33.9 45.6 0.01%+0.1% 23.8 24.3 30.6 35.7 46.9 0.1%+0.2% 42.3 43.0 48.6 35.2 Na

0.1%+0.5% 47.2 43.5 56.8 34.2 N

CBZ+Cu-8

0.2%+0.5% 59.7 46.6 60.3 44.3 N

0.005%+0.05% 40.5 17.6 23.8 22.6 40.8 0.01%+0.05% 43.6 17.9 26.6 25.8 42.7 0.01%+0.1% 46.4 18.3 27.8 25.5 43.5 0.02%+0.2% 48.0 19.3 28.8 26.4 44.1 0.1%+0.5% 50.0 20.6 30.2 28.7 44.6

CBZ+DDAC

0.2%+0.5% 53.2 22.7 32.0 30.4 45.2 0.2%+0.02% 8.11 19.8 15.4 17.1 27.3 0.2%+0.05% 8.42 20.0 15.7 17.4 28.6 BAC+CTL 0.4%+0.1% 17.9 23.5 19.8 19.8 29.5

0.2%+0.01% 10.4 12.5 10.2 15.2 23.7 0.4%+0.01% 11.9 14.5 13.1 17.8 25.5 BAC+Cu-8 0.4%+0.05% 16.0 16.1 14.1 18.4 27.3

aN: No fungal growth

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Table 4 The diameter of inhibition zone by formulations (mm)

Formulations Concentrations of a. i. Bt Fv Th Tv Pp

0.005%+0.01% 42.7 8.9 25 17.5 32.3 0.01%+0.01% 43.1 12.2 25.6 20.8 35.3 0.02%+0.01% 46.1 13.2 25.7 21.4 35.7 0.02%+0.02% 48.9 18.3 27.0 22.9 40.0 0.1%+0.02% 50.4 29.0 31.9 22.8 53.7

Benomyl+Cu-8

0.2%+0.08% 52.9 38.7 38.1 23.8 56.3 0.005%+0.01% 44.8 16.2 22.6 21.5 36 0.01%+0.1% 45.8 20.1 26.6 29.4 39.8 0.02%+0.2% 50.4 20.0 28.1 31.0 43.5 0.02%+0.5% N 32.7 42.0 32.5 N 0.1%+0.5% N 43.1 43.7 36.7 N

Benomyl+DDAC

0.2%+0.5% N 43.3 41.4 39.1 N

0.02%+0.2% 18.0 16.3 18.0 12.0 24.8 0.02%+0.5% 22.7 20.3 20.6 14.3 31.9 Cu-8+DDAC 0.08%+0.5% 24.3 31.8 20.4 17.8 27.0

0.01%+0.005% 9.1 14.0 0 0 18.9 0.02%+0.005% 10.0 17.3 0 0 11.5 PPZ+Cu-8 0.02%+0.01% 12.5 16.7 9.5 0 14.1 0.01%+0.01% 10.2 0 12.4 0 10.9 0.02%+0.05% 17.5 15.2 16.0 0 11.6 PPZ+DDAC 0.02%+0.1% 17.0 14.3 15.5 0 12.9

0.01%+0.005% 21.8 14.5 23.9 22.8 30.4 0.02%+0.01% 19.5 19.1 25.8 25.6 32.7 PPZ+Benomyl0.02%+0.02% 23.6 21.1 26.7 26.8 33.5

0.005%+0.005% 9.1 11.1 0 0 17.7 0.01%+0.005% 10.9 14.9 0 0 21.0 TEB+Cu-8 0.05%+0.01% 15.5 22.2 0 0 28.9 0.005%+0.01% 0 0 0 0 20.5 0.01%+0.05% 17.2 19.5 17.4 15.2 23.6 TEB+DDAC 0.05%+0.1% 20.7 24.1 18.6 18.0 29.2

0.01%+0.005% 16.3 16.6 22.8 22.9 27.4 0.02%+0.01% 23.1 18.6 24.7 25.3 28.6 TEB+Benomyl0.05%+0.02% 27.1 21.8 24.2 25.9 32.2

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REFERENCES

Laks, P E, Woods, T L (1992): Chlorothalonil: A new ground contact wood

preservative. IRG/WP/ 92-3712. Wakeling, R, Woods, T L (1997): Antisapstain field trials of nexgen in New Zealand.

IRG/WP/97-30145. Wakeling, R, et al (1997): Laboratory and field trials of novel antisapstain

formulations. IRG/WP/97-30146. Cooper, J F, Riboul, D, De Vleeschauwer, M, Woods, T (1997): Migration of

chlorothalonil and carbendazim in fruits stored in wood treated with the anti-sapstain formulation Tuff Brite C. IRG/WP 97-50097.

Appendix II Technical report of vacuum pressure treatment by NaPCP free preservative during 2006-2007 --ITTO PD103/01 Rev.4(I) “Demonstration of Rubberwood Processing Technology and Promotion of Sustainable Development in China and Other Asian Countries”

Based on the output of ITTO PD 3/96 Rev. 2(I), pilot test of vacuum pressure treatment of NaPCP free preservative was conducted during 2006-2007.

1 MATERIALS AND METHOD

1.1 Materials

Fresh rubberwood timber. 1.2 Preservatives

The active ingredients of formulations are described in Table 1.

Table 1 The active ingredients of each vacuum pressure treatment formulations (a. i. %)

Formulations Boric acid Borax F2

1 0.50 1.00 0.035-0.045

2 1.00 0.20 0.035-0.050

1.3 Test sites

Site 1：Lezhong Wood Factory, Hainan Nongken Wood Co，duration：Aug 3, 2006–

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May 31, 2007.

Site 2： Cangjiang Wood Plant, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. duration：July 24, 2006– Oct 31, 2006. 1.4 Treating procedure

Vacuum pressure treatment was used in the following procedure.

Site 1： Initiate vacuum 0.08 M Pa for 15 min, 1.2 M Pa pressure for 35 min, final vacuum 0.085 MPa for 10 min. The average absorption was 200-250 kg/ m3. The treated timber was stacked.

Site 2： Initiate vacuum 0.08 M Pa for 15 min, 1.1 M Pa pressure for 60 min, final vacuum 0.08 MPa for 15 min. The average absorption was 200-250 kg/ m3. The treated timber was stacked.

Fig. 1 Rubberwood timberbefore treatment (Lezhong Wood Factory, Hainan Nongken Wood Co，Aug, 2006)

Fig. 2 Preservative (boric acid/borax/F2) (Lezhong Wood Factory, Hainan Nongken Wood Co，Aug,2006)

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Fig.3 Preservative(boric acid/borax/F2) (Cangjiang Wood Plant, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province，Aug, 2006)

Fig.4 Air drying after treatment (Cangjiang Wood Plant, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province，Aug, 2006)

2 RESULTS

This test indicated that F2 could prevent the treated timber for 15-20 days from stain and mold. At Lezhong Wood Factory, Hainan Nongken Wood Co, there was only small mold occurrence during air drying in May 2007. At Cangjiang Wood Plant, there was only small mold occurrence during air drying from Sept to Oct, 2006. The reason is that: some treated timber was direct exposed to exterior for the leaching of preservative after the raining, for there is limited shed for air drying.

3 CONCLUSION

Fungicide carbendazim (F2) can be used for stain and mold control instead of NaPCP.

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Drying Technique of Improved-Preservative Treated

Rubberwood

Gao Ruiqing Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, , Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail:ray@caf.ac.cn Teng Tonglian Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, P. O. Box 18, Beijing, China, 100091 Li Xiaoling Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China, 100091 E-mail:lixiaol@caf.ac.cn

Abstract: In order to gain the drying characteristics of improved-preservative treated rubberwood, 100℃ drying test method was used. Based on the test results, rubberwood drying schedules for lab testing were made out. Then a series of lab testing experiments were conducted in a wood drying test machine, and finally 3 optimized drying schedules for improved-preservative treated rubberwood were gained. And a series of follow-up pilot tests were executed in a rubber wood mill in Hainan province. Results showed that: Rubberwood with or without pith should be dried separately. Pith free rubberwood could be dried according to the high temperature drying schedule C with good drying quality; Uniform spacing stickers and heavy load on top of stack was recommended to reduce deformation; In order to keep the original color of rubberwood, the rubberwood should be dried according to schedule A; And schedule B can also be adopted according to the requirement of final products of the rubberwood by the manufactory.

1 INTRODUCTION

Being one of tropical species, rubberwood（Hevea brasilie）has been planted in large scale in Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi since 1950’s in order to crop the latex to make rubber. The economical life-span of rubberwood trees is 25 to 30 years, in order to improve the output of the latex, the rubberwood trees must be refreshed in a period of time. From the 1980’s, rubberwood trees have been cut in fixed quantity and refreshed every year, it is estimated that the output of rubberwood log is about 500-800

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thousand cubic meters every year, this is a very large amount of tropical wood resource in China.

In old days, rubberwood was mainly consumed as the fuel wood with little commercial value because it is likely to be eroded and is easy to be attacked by the insects. Studies on the utilization and the development of rubberwood has been taken into account in China since the middle of 1970’s, and the rubberwood preservation problem has been solved in the end of 1970’s. In addition, the related studies such as rubberwood properties, drying techniques and utilization have also been done.

At present, the main preservatives for rubberwood are those containing the NaPCP, which are very effective in the preservation. However, the toxicity of NaPCP is very severe and preservatives treatment by NaPCP can cause pollution, therefore, the uses of NaPCP are strictly limited or forbidden in many countries. Considering the environment protection and the development of international market, developing the new preservatives without containing NaPCP is the common study topic of both China and all other rubberwood production countries.

The key problem to be solved of this project is to determine the best rubberwood drying technique after they are treated by new preservatives with containing none NaPCP.

2 TEST METHOD

2.1 Test material

Species: rubberwood（Hevea brasilie）

Tree age：25-33 years

Produci (1)Xilian Farm, Hainan Province

(2)Nanmao Farm, Hainan Province

Log diameter：220-450mm

Log length：2,000-2,200mm

2.2 Drying characteristics test

In order to determine the drying schedule of rubberwood, drying characteristics were tested in the electricity heated oven. Test sample (with the size of 200×100×20 mm) were put in the oven on end with the constant temperature at 100℃. Before the test, the initial status, including the weight, and the visible surface defects were measured. The

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initial checks were checked according to a fixed time. When the moisture content is below 1 percent, the test was over. At this time, calculate the number of all invisible drying defects, and then cut the samples to calculate the final moisture content, in the meantime, the observe the inner checks and calculate the cross-section deformation value.

Table 1 Status of initial checks

Surface check End-surface check End check No. Long-n

arrow Short-narrow Wide Long-

narrowShort- narrow Wide Long small

Defects grade

No.1 0 4 0 0 9 0 0 many 2 No.2 0 2 0 0 7 0 0 many 2 No.3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 many 1 No.4 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 many 2 No.5 0 3 0 0 7 0 0 many 2 No.6 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 many 2 No.7 0 4 0 0 4 0 0 many 2 No.8 0 9 0 0 7 0 0 many 2 No.9 0 3 0 0 11 0 0 many 2

No.10 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 many 1 No.11 0 3 0 0 8 0 0 many 2 No.12 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 many 2

Table 2 Status of internal checks and cross-section deformation after drying

No. Internal checks

Defects grade Deformation (A-B）mm Defects grade

No.1 No check 1 0.10 1 No.2 no check 1 0.03 1 No.3 no check 1 0.12 1 No.4 no check 1 0.18 1 No.5 no check 1 0.32 1 No.6 no check 1 0.06 1 No.7 no check 1 0.00 1 No.8 no check 1 0.17 1 No.9 no check 1 0.09 1

No.10 no check 1 0.03 1 No.11 no check 1 0.33 1 No.12 no check 1 0.25 1

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Table 3 Moisture content changing during the 100℃ drying test (%)

Drying time 0 1 hour 3 hours 5 hours 7 hours 13 hours 19

hours No.1 73.6 50.3 34.7 25.0 17.5 4.2 1.1 No.2 71.5 47.6 34.1 24.8 17.9 6.2 1.2 No.3 70.3 48.1 34.5 25.6 18.9 6.5 1.2 No.4 68.2 48.2 35.4 26.2 19.8 7.2 1.3 No.5 69.1 48.9 34.8 25.0 20.2 6.3 1.2 No.6 70.4 48.6 34.2 24.5 19.5 5.1 1.2 No.7 71.6 48.1 34.8 24.2 18.7 4.5 1.2 No.8 72.9 50.9 36.1 26.3 19.2 4.1 1.1 No.9 68.9 48.2 34.0 25.1 18.5 5.4 1.2

No.10 75.8 53.1 38.6 29.1 19.2 4.9 1.1 No.11 67.8 49.0 39.3 28.0 20.5 4.8 1. No.12 72.0 49.2 37.5 27.9 18.7 6.7 1.2

100℃drying test showed that the check of rubberwood was not serious. The main types of checks were end check, surface check and end-surface check. Although the initial moisture content of rubberwood was high, the moisture content of the surface part decreased rapidly under the FSP and begin to shrink, while that of the inner part was still higher. Therefore, the drying stress occurred and the surface check appeared. After the drying test lasted for one hour, the slight end check appeared on all the test samples, and with the test continuing, the checks became more and more seriously, even some of these end checks were stretched to the outer surface to form that called end-surface checks. When the sample’s mean moisture content reached about 30%, all the initial checks stopped. 100℃drying characteristics test showed there were some surface checks, end checks and end-surface checks in the initial drying stage but not seriously (see table 1), and the defect grade of initial checks of 100℃drying test was grade 2.

After drying test ended, the samples were sawn to make the final moisture content test sample and to check the status of internal check and to measure cross-section deformation value (A-B) (see table 2). The results showed there was no internal check in the rubberwood, and the defect grade of internal checks of 100℃drying test was grade 1. And the cross-section deformation value was very small, its defect grade of 100℃drying test was grade 1 too (see table 2).

2.3 Rubberwood drying schedule test

Rubberwood drying schedules for test were made out according to the results of 100℃ drying characteristics testing. and all the drying schedules tests were carried out in one

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of the rubberwood processing mill located in Hainan Province. The test sample size of rubberwood was 800-1,200mm long , 80mm wide and 30mm thick. After preservatives treatment, the test samples were deposited in the air-drying shelter for a short term. And then the kiln drying tests were executed in this mill. After a series of testing, 3 drying schedules were finally selected (see table 4 –6).

Table 4 Drying schedule A （Thickness:25-30mm）

Moisture content (%)

Dry bulb temperature

(℃)

Temperature difference

between dry bulb and wet

bulb (℃)

Relative humidity（%）

Lasting time

Pre-treatment 55 1 95 5-6 hours 50 以上 48 3 85 50-40 50 4 80 40-30 52 6 70 30-25 55 8 65 25-20 60 12 52 20-15 65 15 45

15 以下 75 20 37 End-treatment 65 6 78 3-4 hours

Table 5 Drying schedule B （Thickness:25-30mm）

Moisture content

(%)

Dry bulb temperature (℃)

Temperature difference

between dry bulb and wet

bulb (℃)

Relative humidity（%）

Lasting time

Pre-treatment 65 1 95 5-6 hours

>50 60 3 85 50-40 62 5 78 40-30 64 8 67 30-25 66 10 60 25-20 70 12 55 20-15 75 15 48 <15 80 20 39

End-treatment 85 6 60 3-4 hours

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Table 6 Drying schedule C （Thickness:25-30mm）

Moisture content (%)

Dry bulb temperature

(℃)

Temperature difference

between dry bulb and wet

bulb (℃)

Relative humidity（%）

Lasting time

Pre-treatment 70 1 95 5-6 hours >50 66 6 75

50-40 70 9 65 40-30 75 11 60 30-25 80 12 58 25-20 80 15 50 20-15 85 20 40 <15 90 25 33

End-treatment 85 6 60 3-4 hours

3. DRYING SCHEDULE TESTING RESULTS ANALYSIS

The main indices taken into account in these drying schedule tests were the drying quality and drying speed. The objective of the tests was made out the optimum drying schedule of rubberwood with the shortest drying time at the precondition of good drying quality.

3.1 Drying quality 3.1.1 Visible drying defects

All visible drying defects, including end check, end-surface check, surface check, warp and deformation were counted after the test (see table 7). The results showed that, during the drying, the checks were not serious. The main types of checks were slight end checks, in which, some of them were developed into end-surface checks. And some small checks sometimes occurred in the surface of rubberwood boards along with the vessels, which were so imperceptible that they can be removed after planing and will not affect its use.

When drying rubberwood timber containing the pith with drying schedule B, few checks were found and only some deformation occurred; while drying with schedule C, severe checks even spits and deformation were found in about one fourth of those timber which containing pith. Considering these facts, timbers with pith and without pith should be dried respectively. Those containing pith should be dried according to schedule B and proper middle term treatment were needed, while Those pith free rubberwood timber could be dried fast according to schedule C and the drying time

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would be shorten.

Table 7 Inspected Drying Indices unit: %

Drying Schedule Index Max. Min. ó V% Average Visible drying defects

Wi 78.6 42.4 27.1 37.6 60.5Wf 10.9 9.4 0.51 18.4 10.3Wg 2.1 1.05 0.11 8.6 1.9 A

Y 2.0 0.69 0.33 11.2 1.20

Surface checks and deformation were found on 5 samples containing pith; No split, warp and inner check were found

Wi 80.1 43.3 20.6 35.2 58.6Wf 10.1 7.6 0.98 10.6 9.2 Wg 2.0 1.30 0.53 35.1 1.5 B

Y 1.90 0.35 0.22 19.8 1.09

End-surface checks were found on a few samples, no surface check and inner check were found. The dried rubberwood kept the original color.

Wi 84.2 45.8 19.3 29.8 64.9Wf 10.9 9.2 0.50 5.2 9.6 Wg 1.2 0.90 0.31 31.4 1.0

C

Y 1.90 0.35 0.22 19.8 1.09

End-surface checks were found on a few samples, surface checks were found on the samples containing pith. Other samples were dried with good quality, and the color of the samples became darker.

Note: Wi—initial MC; Wf—final MC; Wg—MC gradient along the thickness direction; Y—drying

stress; ó—mean square deviation , V%— indicates the variance

3.1.2 Final Moisture contents (Wf)

The desired final moisture content of this test was 10%. Due to the limited test samples, 100 to 300 test samples were dried together with the timber of the factory and were put into the different kilns with capacity from 35 to 75 cubic meter. After drying, moisture contents were calculated by means of making the pieces of moisture content samples. The results showed the final moisture contents of rubberwood were around 10%, and the difference of moisture content between different samples was very small. The drying quality meets the need of grade one or grade two of national drying standard sawn timber.

3.1.3 Moisture content gradient along the thickness direction (Wg)

When drying, the water in surface layer was firstly removed from the rubberwood, so the moisture contents in different layers were different, thus the moisture content gradient existed. This gradient still existed when then drying process ended. Therefore, final treatment must have been done before the rubberwood was removed out of the kiln. The results of moisture content gradient along the thickness direction showed that the moisture content difference between different layers was small, and the drying

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quality was in order of grade one of national drying standard of sawn timber.

3.1.4 Drying stress index (Y)

Drying stress existed all the time during the drying because of different evaporating speed along the thickness direction, and when the stress was big enough, surface checks or internal checks appeared. Therefore, middle term treatment must have been carried out when the moisture content was at about 30% in order to reduce the drying stress. When the drying was finished, the residual drying stress still existed and would cause deformation during final using. Moisture balance treatment has been done in these tests in order to reduce the difference of moisture content between different layers or different samples, and the residual drying stress reduced a lot. The results showed that, the drying stress index was in order of grade one of national drying standard of sawn timber.

3.2 Deformation

Rubberwood is a fast growing species with big structure variation. When drying, they are easily formed severe deformation, including bowing, cupping, warping and twisting. It was found that the rubberwood deformation on the upside of the stack was bigger than the lower side because the timber in the lower side endured large compression, thus the deformation was restricted. So in the later testing, all the spacing stickers were kept in straight lines and some heavy load were put on the top of stack, meanwhile the proper middle term treatment also was executed. Results showed that all kinds of deformation greatly reduced.

3.3 Drying speed

Drying speed is also an important index. Improving the drying speed, shortening the drying time and reducing the drying costing should put into practice at the precondition of good drying quality. This will greatly improve the annual drying production amount, and thus improve the economic benefits.

Table 8 Drying time and speed of different drying period

Thickness:25-30mm Drying time of different

period (h) Drying speed of different

period（%/h) Drying

Schedule Initial

MC(%)Final

MC(%)

Total drying time(h) ＞30% 30-20% ＜20% ＞30% 30-20% ＜20%

Average

(%/h) A 60.5 10.1 260 122 60 78 0.25 0.17 0.13 0.59 B 58.6 9.2 190 83 49 58 0.34 0.20 0.18 0.79 C 64.9 9.6 110 41 29 40 0.85 0.34 0.26 0.36

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3 reasonable drying schedules were made out and could be used to dry wood with good quality, while the difference of drying speed was very huge (see table 8). The results showed that, the drying time was about 11 days when drying these preservatives treated rubberwood according to schedule A, about 8 days according to schedule B and about 4.5 days according to schedule C. The tests showed the rubberwood could be fast dried at some high temperature.

3.4 Rubberwood color after drying

Rubberwood is diffuse porous wood with straight grain, its heartwood and sapwood is hard to distinguish. The fresh rubberwood is light yellow in color, beautiful in grain, and well in processing. The preservative was mainly consisted with borax and boric acid and with none NaPCP, so after vacuum treating, the rubberwood almost maintained the original color. In order to keep the original natural color of rubberwood, the color of dried rubberwood was analyzed. The results showed the color of dried rubberwood had a close relationship with the drying temperature and humidity. The higher the drying temperature was, the bigger the humidity was and the longer the drying time was, the darker the color was. The rubberwood color became darker and brown when they were dried according to schedule C, while the color almost kept the original natural color when they were dried according to schedule A.

3.5 Drying costing

Drying is an important procedure in rubberwood processing, and is the most energy consumed one. In order to get more benefit, not only the loss caused by degrade should be reduced but also the drying cost should be strictly restricted.

The factors affects the rubberwood drying cost includes drying time, electricity consumption, vapor consumption, labor cost and equipment depreciation. In order to be convenient for comparing, the costing was calculated based upon a 50 m3 kiln. The drying costs indices includes 9kw power consumption, 5 to 8 tone vapor consumption per m3 rubberwood, and 3 labors a day. The other indices includes electricity expense (0.80 yuan/kwh), vapor expense (50 Yuan/tone) and labor expense (30Yuan/person day). Drying costing of three schedules are list as following:

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Table 9 Drying costing

Electricity consumption Heat consumption Labor Total

Drying schedule Electricity

consumption(kwh)

Cost (Yuan)

Heat consumption

(Tone)

Cost (Yuan)

Labor (person

day)

Cost (Yuan)

Total cost (Yuan)

Cost per unit

(Yuan/m3) A 2367.0 1900.8 55.0 2750.0 33 990.0 5640.8 112.8 B 1728.0 1382.4 48.0 2400.0 24 720.0 4502.4 90.0 C 992.0 777.6 36.0 1800.0 14 420.0 2997.6 60.0

From table 9, it is showed that the difference of drying costs according to different drying schedules were very huge. The drying costing was 112.8 yuan/m3 when the rubberwood was dried according to schedule A, while it would be greatly reduced to 60 yuan/m3 when the rubberwood was dried according to schedule C.

4 CONCLUSION

The drying characteristic grade of rubberwood with new preservatives treated was grade 2 of initial check, grade 2 of internal check and grade 1 of deformation.

According to the result of drying characteristic test and a series of the drying schedules tests, 3 optimum drying schedules were made.

Rubberwood with or without pith should be dried separately. Pith free rubberwood could be dried according to the high temperature drying schedule C with good drying quality which the drying checks, deformation and moisture contents of dried rubberwood were all fit the national drying standard of grade 1.

Uniform spacing stickers and heavy load on top of stack was recommended to reduce deformation. When drying rubberwood with pith, the drying temperature should be lower and middle term treatment time should be increase.

The color of dried rubberwood has a close relationship with the drying temperature and humidity. In order to keep the original color of rubberwood, the rubberwood should be dried according to drying schedule A with a lower drying temperature.

Drying time had a close relationship with the drying schedule. When drying rubberwood according to the 3 different schedules, their drying time were 11, 8 and 45 days respectively.

Drying time greatly affected the drying costing. Improving the drying speed or shortening drying time will reduce the drying costing.

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Above all, in order to improve the drying efficient and reduce the drying costing, the rubberwood should be dried according to schedule C; In the other hand, in order to keep the original color of rubberwood, they should be dried according to schedule A; Schedule B can also be adopted according to the requirement of final products of the rubberwood by the manufactory.

REFERENCES He D H et; 1991: The test on air-conventional combined timber drying, Wood drying

symposium V(18). Vermaas H F; A review of drying technology for young fast-grown Eucalypts.

Department of Wood Science University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Li X L et; 2003: Study on Drying Characteristics and Predicted Schedules of Five

Species Tropical Plantation Woods in China, 2nd Technical Report. ITTO Project PD 69/01 Rev.2(I).

He D H et; 1987: The test on air-drying process and kiln drying technology for poplar. The China Wood Industry.

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CFC/ITTO/72 – PD 103/01 Rev. 4 (I)

Demonstration of Rubberwood Processing Technology and Promotion of Sustainable Development in China and Other Asian Countries

Project Leader: Ye Kelin, Professor, Director of CRIWI Project Technical Leader: Lu Jianxiong, Professor Jiang Mingliang, Professor

Executing Agency: Research Institute of Wood Industry Chinese Academy of Forestry Wan Shou Shan, Beijing, 100091 P. R. China Tel.: 86-10-62888861 Fax: 86-10-62881937