Domestic ivory trade: the supply chain for raw ivory in Thailand is driven by the financial needs of elephant owners and market factors

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map showing sampling areas in three different regions of Thailand.

Table 1. General description of sampling areas related to ivory trade, see, Figure 1 for locations.

Region & Province	Description
	Raw ivory sources	Manufacturing areas
North
Phrae	Elephants mostly work in the tourism industry. These elephants are either locally-owned, or have owners based elsewhere e.g., Surin (Tipprasert, 2002).	NA
Sukhothai
Nakhon Sawan	NA	Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani are currently important ivory product manufacturing areas. Ivory carving business in Thailand started from these areas with early stage of production involving sacred items and later expanded to a wide range of jewelry and products (Stiles, 2003).
Uthai Thani
Petchabun
Northeast
Surin	Thatum in Surin is known to be the ‘home of the domesticated elephant.’ Elephant keeping is an important cultural and livelihood value for the Kui ethnic group (Chomdee et al., 2013). Surin elephants either remain locally or work in tourism businesses in other area (Tipprasert, 2002).	Surin is another significant manufacturing site (Krishnasamy et al., 2016). There are about 40 registered ivory traders in Surin, most of whom are centered at the Ta-klang elephant village in Thatum (“Deputy commissioner-general visited the city of elephant for inspecting ivory businesses,” 2016).
South
Nakhon Si Thammarat	There are many elephants working in elephant camps (elephant tourist businesses) in tourist hotspots (e.g., Phuket), which largely originated from Northern provinces and Surin of Northeast. Some the elephants log in the rubber plantations (Chotikasemkul, 2019; “Elephants from the North and the Northeast increasingly moved to the South to support tourism and labour uses,” 2017; Tipprasert, 2002).	NA
Krabi
Phangnga Trang

Figure 2. The supply chain of the Thai ivory trade involves five supply chain actors: tusks harvested by elephant owners are passed to manufacturers either via direct trade between elephant owners and ivory manufacturers or via intermediaries, who are particularly important for manufacturers without access of local ivory e.g., manufacturers in Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani of the North. Finished ivory products are passed along the chain to final consumers through networks of manufacturers and retailers. While the flow of ivory from sources to consumers mostly involves monetary transactions, some elephant owners may transfer ivory to relatives and friends for in-kind and sentimental purposes. The width of the arrows represents the proportional volume of activities.

Table 2. Main supply chain actors and their interactions in the supply chain of Thai ivory trade.

Supply chain actors	Descriptions
Elephant owners	Owners of the elephants either keep elephant themselves or pay mahouts (keepers) to take care of the animals. Elephant owners from a “mahout family” tend to domesticate elephant themselves and earn significant income from elephant uses (e.g., hiring for tours and shows) and elephant keeping. In our sample, this group of elephant owners generally own less than five elephants. The group of owners having up to more than 20 elephants primarily pay mahouts to take care of their elephants. These elephants either work for family-owned elephant tourist businesses, locally known as elephant camps, or are hired for work in the tourist businesses countrywide.
Manufacturers	Manufacturers make finished ivory items from raw tusks. Manufacturing varies from polishing the tusks and preparing bases for decorative tusk pairs, through to elaborate carvings. The main sites for manufacturing ivory products are: Nakhon Sawan and Uthai Thani, two adjacent provinces, in the North, and Surin in the Northeast. Commercial carving began in the Northern provinces around 90 years ago with ivory supplied from other areas, including Surin. Surin was initially a source of supply as well as producing small amounts of plain sacred ivory items (e.g., Buddha amulets). Over the last two decades, villagers obtained knowledge of fine carving from the North, coupled with Thai government promotion of local crafts to increase the income of residents. Surin ivory business have thus become a major manufacturing site. Ivory manufacturers sell ivory items both wholesale to other traders and retail to end users.
Intermediaries	Intermediaries are locals in areas with elephants. Some elephant owners take this role to seek supply for manufacturers who previously bought their own tusks. Some intermediaries are ivory traders and former elephant owners. Buyers, including manufacturers, tend to stick with a specific, trusted intermediary.
Retailers	Retailers occur in different provinces. They are mostly small family businesses without employees. They tend to trade in ivory in addition to their other businesses or occupations. Ivory is sold amongst other merchandise in their shops, including jewelry and souvenirs made from other materials e.g., bones of cattle and ostrich, wood, gold, silver. Ivory retailers sell ivory either at their residences or in rented stalls/shops. Most Surin retailers operate small shops at the Elephant Study Center in Ta-Klang and are closely related e.g., siblings, relatives.
Ivory consumers	Ivory consumers include possessors of ivory, either in the form of raw tusks or finished products. They have acquired ivory through means including purchase, gifting or inheritance.

Figure 3. Ivory supply from elephant owners in Thailand is driven by multiple factors at each step. The financial needs of elephant owners have a strong effect on decisions related to tusk harvesting and use. Tusk use and sale destination are influenced by market factors (price and access). Other influences on ivory supply include elephant use and management, sentimental values, ivory beliefs, legal awareness and tusk forms.

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