Page 257 - The Guide To Sarawak

THE GUIDE TO SARAWAK 255
Rubber is an important smallholder crop in Sarawak. These rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) have cups attached to their trunks for ease of tapping the latex.
Rubber
Rubber has been an important crop in Sarawak since the early 20th Century; much of Kuching’s old city centre owes its existence
to the great rubber boom of the 1920’s. Rubber in
Sarawak is mostly grown
by smallholders, yet the total area planted is almost 160,000 hectares. Sarawak’s rubber production is around 80,000 tonnes per annum, most of which is exported. To support the growers, the
Malaysian Rubber Board
has offices in Kuching and Miri and research stations in Similajau and Niah. Visitors to rural communities can also try rubber tapping for themselves.
The resulting sheets are then pressed and dried ready for The collected latex is poured into trays to coagulate. sale and export.