Rubber exports likely to hit US$2 billion

Vietnam’s rubber exports are estimated to reach US$1.8-2 billion in 2010 as export prices continue rising to over US$4,000 per tonne, said Vice President Tran Ngoc Thuan of the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA).

At a seminar on the future of the natural rubber processing industry that opened in HCM City on November 3, Thuan, who is also head of the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group (VRG), said Vietnam now ranks fifth in the world in terms of rubber cultivation acreage and fourth in terms of natural rubber export volume.

Vietnam’s rubber has been exported to 39 countries, with China making up 60 percent of the country’s export volume, he added.

The Secretary General of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) Dr S. Evans spoke highly of fierce competition between natural and synthetised rubber industries.

There are big advantages as well as challenges to Vietnam and other natural rubber producers, he stressed.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnam’s natural rubber output increased from 220,000 tonnes in 1996 to 550,000 tonnes in 2007.

The nation exported almost 732,00 tonnes of rubber in 2009 and is expected to ship abroad 750,000 tonnes this year, said the ministry. – Vietnam+

Tags: Vietnam rubber exports