THE rubber estates of Fauzi Hasballah in Lau Tador village, Serdang Bedagai, North Sumatra, are now only about 800 hectares. Sixteen years ago, his family’s estates almost doubled the area. In 1994, with the agreement of his four siblings, he “demolished” a portion of rubber plants and replaced them with oil palm trees. Three rubber processing factories were liquidated, leaving only one.

The low rubber price, said Fauzi, forced PT Gotong R