Rubber Producers in the Past

The world production of natural rubber in the old 1,000 long tons came from these countries;

• Indonesia 686
• Federation of Malaya 627
• Thailand 134
• Ceylon 96
• Vietnam 66
• and so on

Until 1912, most of the crude rubber came from the Amazon valley where the sparse stands of Hevea trees were reached by trails. The natives made shallow incisions in the bark and at regular intervals, collected the latex in clay cups.

In Malaysia, rubber trees are called "pokok getah". In 1876, rubber seeds from the Amazonia landed at the Botanical Garden in London and later found their ways to Malaysia, Ceylon and Singapore. A road in Malacca is named after Tan Chay Yan, as the first rubber planter in Malaya, in view of his contributions to the country's revenue. Chay Yan was the eldest son of Tan Teck Guan and the grandson of Tan Tock Seng. Chay Yan had also planted rubber trees in Chao Chu Kang, Singapore.