Economy
Like many other rural townships, Ayer Tawar is economically dependent on its agro-based industries. The town is surrounded by plantations and small holdings of commercial crops, such as oil palms, rubber trees, cocoa, coconut trees and, recently, fruit plants such as durian and mango.
From 1910 to 1970, rubber was the sole commercial crop cultivated by the farmers and the British plantation owners. The economic well-being of the population invariably fluctuated in tandem with the price of rubber. In the early 1970s, the town suffered a devastating economic slump due to prolonged low rubber prices. This led to 3 significant developments: the emigration of the younger populace to major cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and even the United Kingdom, to seek a better living; the migration of many farming families to new settlements such as Sri Jaya in Pahang; and lastly the diversification of cultivation to include other commercial crops, the most important of which is the planting of oil palms. The latter now dominates land use in the vicinity.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)