Pussellawa Plantations’ innovative measures pay dividends

Pussellawa Plantations Limited (PPL), a member of the Free Lanka Capital Holdings Group, is now reaping the benefits of the ambitious rubber replanting programme started six years ago.

As a result of using new high yielding clones, presently a cumulative production of 3,300 tonnes of natural rubber is now being achieved in a productive area covering 2,800 hectares.

With the completion of the replanting programme, the production is estimated to increase up to 5,650 tonnes within the next eight years from 3,700 ha.

According to a spokesman of the company, even as it is, PPL yields are the highest in the country amongst all companies. He added that 44% of the budgeted profits for 2011 will be reinvested on the replanting drive.

Explaining how this was achieved, the spokesman said that PPL was one of the pioneers to use ‘rain guards’. “For instance, each tree yields 30g per one tapping normally. Due to rain interference only 190-200 tapping days are possible. With rain guarding this has increased to around 300 days. Rain guarding thus plays an important part. The Government grants a subsidy to encourage the usage of this method. Very few plantations have mastered this technique.”

‘Low frequency tapping’ whereby the number of workers engaged for tapping rubber trees is reduced has helped to drastically reduce the escalating costs of production. “Highly recommended by the Rubber Research Institute, we use this technology in a positive way and is obtaining encouraging results,” the spokesman added. “This method will also be useful to overcome the predicted worker shortage in time to come.”

Pussellawa Plantations have been innovative and successfully experimented growing rubber in the mid-country tea estates at 3,000 feet elevation replacing unsuitable and uneconomical tea, even though rubber planting is normally done up to 1,000 feet above sea level covering the low country only.

“The mid country crops giving better yields of around 1,799 kg per hectare as against 1,100 kg in the low country. As such we have embarked on a large expansion programme, which will certainly add to our profits in the future,” the spokesman said.

Incidentally, PPL comprise 50% tea and 50% rubber plantations. The company owns 13 rubber estates comprising almost 5,000 hectares in Colombo and Ratnapura Districts, which amount to 4% of the total extent in Sri Lanka of 128,000 ha.

Referring to production of crepe rubber, he pointed out that the seven factories manufacturing prime grades such as sole crepe and latex crepe are considered some of the best quality products made by any manufacturer of natural rubber in Sri Lanka. These go to niche markets. PPL caters to the world market through direct sales to the local buyers and the rubber sold at the auctions locally.

Pointing out that the living standards of PPL workers have improved in the recent past, the spokesman said that they have been provided with better and improved housing facilities. In addition, concreting and tarring of 111 km of key internal roads during the past three years have benefited the estate population as well as facilitating easier internal transport of produce and day-to-day supervision.

With the global prices increasing due to the high demand especially from the emerging economies like China and India, a bright future is seen for rubber. Sri Lanka contributes 2.5 per cent of the global rubber production and is the only producer of latex crepe –the cleanest form of rubber manufactured in the world.

As for the rubber producers in the country, while small holders comprise 60%, the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) form the balance 40%. Out of 23 RPCs, some only produce tea some while others grow both tea and rubber. The larger ones are rubber companies.