Rubber plantation labor and labor movements as rubber prices decrease in southern Thailand

Tongkaemkaew, Uraiwan; Chambon, Bénédicte

doi:10.24259/fs.v2i1.3641

Open access Jurnal

Rubber plantation labor and labor movements as rubber prices decrease in southern Thailand

Forest and Society · Vol. 2 No. 1 (2018) · pp. 18–27

DOI: 10.24259/fs.v2i1.3641
ISSN: 2549-4333, 2549-4724
Published: 2018-04-26
Publisher: Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin
Language: en
License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

A decrease in rubber prices can initiate labor migration trends from rubber production to industrial or service sectors, which could further cause labor shortages in rubber production. This case was not studied in the different communities with a long history of rubber such as the center city of southern Thailand. This study analyzes the source of labor and movement of laborers working in rubber plantations in the context of decreasing rubber prices. We selected 3 representative areas, namely rural, suburban and urban communities in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. Owners of rubber holdings were the target group for the survey, and individual interviews were conducted. We collected data between March and July 2015, engaging with 207 owners. The results showed that family labor and hired labor were widely used in rubber plantations in the three communities. Locally hired laborers and laborers from other countries were the main sources of hired labor for rubber plantations. The transnational laborers were a secondary source of labor for all communities, especially the rural ones. Family labor was the main source of labor for smallholder rubber plots, especially for the urban and suburban areas. Hired labor was used in all sizes of rubber holding in rural and suburban communities and were very common in the small rubber holdings in urban areas. This shows that the rubber production sector creates employment for local people and for migrants. Furthermore, low rubber price conditions did not significantly impact labor movement in rubber plantations. However, rubber plantations in urban and suburban communities lacked labor supply due to their proximity to the larger urban center of Hat Yai city. Therefore, the low tapping intensity and generate the diversified source of income to attract young labor generation to work on the farms should be policy to maintain natural rubber production in Thailand

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Co-author	Organisation	Joint articles
Eric Penot	Affiliation unknown	2
Marion Theriez	Affiliation unknown	2
Isabelle Michel	Affiliation unknown	2
J. Sukkul	Affiliation unknown	1
Narathorn Sumkhan	Affiliation unknown	1
Phantip Panklang	Affiliation unknown	1
Alain Brauman	Affiliation unknown	1
Roslan Ismail	Affiliation unknown	1
Supattra Kullawong	Affiliation unknown	1
Satit Aditto	Affiliation unknown	1
Arunee Promkhambut	Affiliation unknown	1

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Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/oai, first harvested 5 Nov 2026, last seen 5 Nov 2026.

Original metadata (oai_dc)

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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Rubber plantation labor and labor movements as rubber prices decrease in southern Thailand</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Tongkaemkaew, Uraiwan</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Chambon, Bénédicte</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">labor migration</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">labor productivity</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">rubber farming</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">rural</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">suburban</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">urban</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">A decrease in rubber prices can initiate labor migration trends from rubber production to industrial or service sectors, which could further cause labor shortages in rubber production. This case was not studied in the different communities with a long history of rubber such as the center city of southern Thailand. This study analyzes the source of labor and movement of laborers working in rubber plantations in the context of decreasing rubber prices. We selected 3 representative areas, namely rural, suburban and urban communities in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. Owners of rubber holdings were the target group for the survey, and individual interviews were conducted. We collected data between March and July 2015, engaging with 207 owners. The results showed that family labor and hired labor were widely used in rubber plantations in the three communities. Locally hired laborers and laborers from other countries were the main sources of hired labor for rubber plantations. The transnational laborers were a secondary source of labor for all communities, especially the rural ones. Family labor was the main source of labor for smallholder rubber plots, especially for the urban and suburban areas. Hired labor was used in all sizes of rubber holding in rural and suburban communities and were very common in the small rubber holdings in urban areas. This shows that the rubber production sector creates employment for local people and for migrants. Furthermore, low rubber price conditions did not significantly impact labor movement in rubber plantations. However, rubber plantations in urban and suburban communities lacked labor supply due to their proximity to the larger urban center of Hat Yai city. Therefore, the low tapping intensity and generate the diversified source of income to attract young labor generation to work on the farms should be policy to maintain natural rubber production in Thailand</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2018-04-26</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/3641</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.24259/fs.v2i1.3641</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Forest and Society; Vol. 2 No. 1 (2018): APRIL; 18-27</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4333</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4724</dc:source>
	<dc:language>en</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/3641/pdf</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2019 Forest and Society</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>