Saw milling of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis): in peninsular Malaysia / Mohd Khusaini Ad Rahman

The rubber tree which is native to Brazil is widely planted for the rubber production of latex in South Asia, mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The total rubber plantations in these three countries consisting of 6.65 million hectares amounts to 75% of the world total. Between 25 to 30 years of age when the production of latex is uneconomical the trees are fell for replanting. Previously the felled trees were of low commercial value and were mainly used as fluewood, but since the mid 1980s rubberwood is one of the most popular timber for making furniture and the other wood based products and is an important resources for the Malaysian timber industry and has now become one of the major money earners for this industry. The success of using rubberwood in Malaysia has lead to the development of similar industries in the neighbouring countries of Thailand, Indonesia and now India and Sri Lanka with China, Vietnam and Cambodia.