Rubber wood and utilization’s / Norhasni Mohamed

The rubber tree which is native to Brazil is widely planted for the production of latex in South East 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 fuelwood, but since the mid 1980s rubber wood is one of the most popular timbers for making furniture and other wood based products and is an important resource for the Malaysian timber industry and has now become one of the major money earners for this industry.