In the early 1900s, rubber replaced tin as the main industry of the island and the natural latex was exported throughout the world. Rubber trees are a big feature of
Phuket’s landscape. It used to cover 60% of Phuket's land and the rubber
industries started long before tourism did. The first rubber tree
was planted in 1898 and today, there are almost 2 million hectares of plantations in Thailand, one hectare contains 420 trees, which can produce 1260 kilograms of latex per day on average. Furthermore, more than 80% of
rubber trees which are on the southern peninsula are mostly at Phuket, meaning that Phuket is also the main rubber income for Thailand.
 |
| Hectares of Rubber trees |
You can recognize rubber plantations by the well-ordered
rows
of trees. If you wake
up early
enough,
you
can watch the rubber tappers at work. You can also organize a
trip to a plantation with a tour agency.
 |
| Rubber tappers at work |
There are still rubber plantations on Phuket
but as building continues, housing estates and other developments
have replaced the rubber plantation.
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| Phuket housing estates plan |
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