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My experience with teak.


Jotham79

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The number of trees was an estimate and it could have been as low as 700?, but that pricing is correct. The farm next to me sold off teak a year earlier, but it's trees were 2 years older and originally planted 4m x 4m so were a little larger. They got more, but still not good enough. On the plus side you can buy teak processed at very reasonable prices.

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In defense of the OP, guys in this area buy parcels of teak and cut it. transport it and sell it themselves. It seems to me that they pick it up fairly cheap. I would say that like anything else, the money is in the middle man and the final sale. Farmers really need to put more effort into selling. From what I can see, they (we) put our effort into the growing of the product and then get &^#%ed over by everybody down the line. We took it up the %$#ss on our cane this year. We have resolved to sell it to the factory ourselves next year, though that'll be difficult for us as we are "fully in" on the growing with little capital (none) for a truck(s). We'll need to make the transition somehow. it'll be the one thing that makes this a profitable venture. As it is, it seems to be pretty much a wash, if you don't count the lifestyle of a farmer as being worth anything.

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I would love to hear from more people who have sold teak recently, not that I doubt your story, but I would like to know if this is something everyone is facing.

Your teak should have been worth considerably more. I know that I pay a lot more than that for ordinary lumber. Teletiger points out that a single 3 meter 2x4 is worth 6 of your full trees at final sale. There is something seriously wrong with that.

It seems to me that they have created a situation where people have little choice but to sell through illegal channels.

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I cut down what i had on land i brought for power poles,did a good job for 6 years,then pulled them down and made charcoal out of them.

No easy way to make money in farming here.

Glad your sharing your experience OP for the wanna get rich newbies.

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I would love to hear from more people who have sold teak recently, not that I doubt your story, but I would like to know if this is something everyone is facing.

Your teak should have been worth considerably more. I know that I pay a lot more than that for ordinary lumber. Teletiger points out that a single 3 meter 2x4 is worth 6 of your full trees at final sale. There is something seriously wrong with that.

It seems to me that they have created a situation where people have little choice but to sell through illegal channels.

You have fallen into the common trap of forgetting, or not knowing, the process of turning a tree into the wood you buy. It takes a lot of time and storage space, or energy, to season the wood. So the original material cost, tree, is a small part of the final price.

As with many industry's it's only the large scale producers who make good money and of them only the ones who can do everything themselves who make very good money.

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I recall watching a programme about a long running family run lumber mill/furniture maker and the owners were proud that each generation was working timber that had been cut by the generation before them and not the trees that they themselves cut, that was just raw material for their children.

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A little more price perspective. Earlier this year in my area of Phetchabun a team cut down teak trees from a small plantation. They cut them 6M long and laid the logs by the roadside and sold them for 3000 baht for the smallest ones of 70cm circumference up to 7000 baht for biggest of 120cm. Including papers. They sold out quickly, I think mainly to local mills.

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None of my trees were anywhere near 70cm (probably less than 50 cm for the larger ones) and some were probably so small as to be near worthless. Like I said, I waited way too long to thin so they were very straight, but not very big. Every batch of trees is different in its quantity, quality, location, and even the individual strain and my point is it is not as easy or profitable as it appeared 15 years ago and the paperwork is a nightmare.

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Chinese Thais account for 14% of the population, but run the country (yellow shirts) own 90% of the businesses and #$&&* the #$&& out of native Thais which account for 76% of the population. look around you...guys...wake up

Take your politics elsewhere. This is a topic about the poor return on growing teak trees.

If you think it is wrong take us through the different stages and show us the profit in each one.

Other wise you are a waste of posts.

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I'm just doing the maths... hang on a minute... ok here goes...7 rai of rubber, 9 year old trees earn 96k per annual 9 month tapping season, this year with shitty prices. Last year a bit less, next year a bit more, and then levels out for another 20-25 years. And i thought rubber was not a great investment...

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A few years ago in Buriram, I was visiting a friend who had a Thai wife. We were driving outside the village and he showed me their land, mostly sugar and tapioca. Around the plots were planted eucalyptus trees which can be harvested relatively quickly. (8-10 years). I asked them why not plant teak to harvest in their old age? The answer was that when the trees are big, they are usually stolen in the middle of the night. Has anyone else heard this?

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someone said you had to wait 70 years for decent teak. maybe so but young teak is used to make furniture here. Lots of the young teak stuff about, looks like pine garden furniture. OK it's not ship building material but it does have some of the qualities. And it does have value. a 15 year old teak tree which has grown well has a value of over 5000 baht to me and it does to the Guys who may come in the night (if it's not an old wives tale) to steal them. If the teaks only worth 150 baht then they would be better foraging for mushrooms or ants eggs and leave your teak alone.

Edited by apache9441
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My wife has 65 rai of Teak in Phongphapum , Khanchanaburi . It's life span is approx 30 years and at this time we are looking to sell them , alot of them are weak trees due to not being looked after as thinned out and fertilized .

Its true about the trees being stolen . we suspectt some of the trees have been cut down by the village head as he has a teak furniture factory and every time my wifes father has approached the guy he's refuses to talk about it .

As to sell these trees we have to approach the forestry department to register them and then get a stamp and licence to transport them ,

At this stage it's a head ache.

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Plant corn, i think there will be a big push in the future for bio fuel and ethanol as is in Brazil...

Just keep listening to government speeches and the slow push in that direction.

ETHANOL is the new black gold,, can we say clear gold?

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