Rayong Province: From Community Economy to Globalization Capital

Abstract

In the past, Economy of Rayong province was subsistence economy. The livelihood of people relied on local resources. They cultivated for consumption and sought for four requisites for their family consumption which composed of cultivating rice, fishing, weaving, collecting non-timber forest products and herbs and raising cattle for plowing. Under the prai system, the relationship between villagers and state was based on labour exchange in the village.

The construction of Sukhumvit road and Bangprakong River Bridge linked Rayong Province into capitalism. This leaded to the expansion of important crop production for sale, and small suppliers, expansion of crop land. These expansions were seen more obviously during 1947-1967 because capitalists widely requested for being logging concessionaire on tropical rain forests. The logging concession caused to increase modern sawmills that normally used huge saw, chain saw, truck for hauling timber and ship for transporting plank both domestic and foreign ports.

After Sukhumvit road construction, rice cropping had to adjust goal from subsistence farming to cash farming, to consume the rest. Cash farming in Rayong was developed to another step because of money economy expansion, the increase in expenditure of American soldiers at U Taphao airport.