He has been tapping rubber since he was 15 and now owns three acres (equivalent to 1.2ha) planted with rubber trees in Titi, Negeri Sembilan. Smallholders produce two types of natural rubber: field latex, which makes up 30% of the country’s total rubber output, and cup lumps, which account for the remaining 70%. Aside from rubber, Ho also sells durian seedlings to tide her over periods of low rubber prices and the wintering season, when rubber trees stop producing latex. “These are some of the main reasons rubber smallholders in Malaysia are not driven to produce field latex even with the spike in global demand for rubber gloves. For the security of his future, Abdullahrus has planted durian trees on the slopes of the terraces between his rubber trees.

Source: The Edge Markets September 10, 2020 06:00 UTC