TANAH MERAH: The fine weather and increase in rubber prices have motivated rubber tappers in Kelantan to return to action.
The monsoon season which set in since October last year, bringing along rain and the floods recently, prevented them from tapping their rubber trees, although the rubber price then has gone up.
Kelantan Rubber Industry Smallholders’ Development Authority (Risda) director Rosli Yaakob said the current farm price of scrap rubber in the state was now between RM4 and RM5 per kilogramme.
“The current price of scrap rubber (SMR 20) has shown an upward trend and it is hoped the rubber tappers would take this opportunity to increase their income,” he told Bernama recently.
He advised rubber tappers to sell their products to the Risda’s collection centres in their respective areas to obtain more competitive prices, instead of selling them to middlemen.
There are currently about 48,000 rubber smallholders in Kelantan, and most of them are in Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah, Pasir Mas, Machang and Jeli.
A check by Bernama at rubber plantations here revealed that most of the rubber tappers were now highly motivated to be back in action and hoped that the price of rubber would continue to soar.
For Shafii Yusoff, 71, of Kampung Padang Siam here, he went back to tapping his 0.8-hectare rubber plantation two days ago after the flood water receded and the weather was fine.
“The last time I went tapping was three months ago when the prices were between RM2 and RM3 per kilogramme. At that time, I earned about RM300 for four days work,” he added.
Another rubber tapper, Mariam Muhamood, 60, also from the same village, said she was grateful that the price of rubber had gone up as it helped to reduce the financial burden of her family.
“Previously, I could only earn around RM200 a week for 100kg of scrap rubber. With the increased rubber prices, it will generate more income for me,” she said.
