History of Teak Cultivation

Teak has been highly valued worldwide throughout history. Native to Southeast Asia, it dates back as early as 7th Century Siam (now Thailand) where it was used to construct and decorate royal residences, religious buildings and trade ships. Other cultures began using teakwood for shipbuilding in the Middle Ages. Its buoyancy, water resistance and anti-fungal properties make it ideal for marine construction.
Apart from the introduction of teak in Java, Indonesia, the first known teak plantation was founded in 1680 in Sri Lanka. Teak planting in India began in the 1840s and increased to significant levels from 1865 onwards. Teak plantations using the “taungya” method, in which a forest crop is established in temporary association with agricultural crops, were initiated in Myanmar in 1856 and in Indonesia around 1880.
Teak was introduced outside Asia in Nigeria in 1902 with seed first from India and subsequently from Myanmar. Planting in eastern Ghana (formerly Togoland) started around 1905. A small plantation of teak was established in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in 1929 from plantation-grown seeds obtained from Togoland. The first teak plantation in the Caribbean was established in Trinidad and Tobago in 1913 with seed from Myanmar. Planting of teak in Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica began between 1927 and 1929.

Tropical Hardwood Challenge 

The ongoing deforestation of the tropics resembles the clearing of the primary forests of Europe and North America. At the current pace, experts expect rainforests to disappear in three decades. Tropical hardwoods in Southeast Asia already near depletion. Meanwhile the world’s deserts are expanding at the rate of 27,000 square miles per year.

Either tropical rainforests will be destroyed or they will be protected. Regardless, teak will become increasingly scarce. Tropical trees are being felled at the rate of 19 million each day. Since 1940, forty percent of tropical rainforests have been lost.

At the present pace, 70% of tropical rainforests will be lost by the end of this decade. It is unlikely that enough plantations can be planted to keep tropical hardwood prices from steadily increasing. As international demand increases, the availability of rainforests as a supply will continue to decrease and private plantations such as LaQua Plantations International will be critical to supply the world’s hardwood markets.

Planting and Maintenance 

Field attention makes the difference between ordinary versus extraordinary teak that demands a premium price. The periodic pruning required for top-quality veneer comes at a price. The first few years of maintenance are the most costly as 15% of seedlings die and must be replaced. Fertilizer is applied throughout the maturation cycle to stimulate growth.
During years 1-5, underbrush must be cleared until its growth is inhibited as the first canopy blocks the sun. Periodic thinning every 4-5 years allows in more light, requiring more clearing until year ten. As teak is a light-demanding species throughout its life cycle, periodic thinning favors larger growth trees.
The spacing of trees and the number, timing and intensity of thinning strongly affect the pattern of growth and the yield of the plantation. If thinning is late, growth rates decline whereas if the plantation is thinned too early or too heavily, trees have a greater tendency to produce side branches and shoots. This also reduces the potential yield since growth is diverted from the trunk that should be free of defects such as those caused by branches and shoots.
Pruning and judicious thinning are the best guarantees of top-quality veneer with minimal knots. After year five, maintenance costs decline dramatically. As trees mature, they are cut and the logs shipped abroad or milled into lumber, dried and shipped to market. Milling will be done on-site using local crews overseen by LaQua Plantation managers. Our bottom-up business model favors local economic development by supporting service-providers in Belize, a key component of our business philosophy.