HANOI (Commodity Online) : World’s fourth largest rubber exporter Vietnam achieved a new record in shipments last year with 782,200 tons of worth $2.38 billion last year.
According to Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA), the figure represented an increase of 6.9 percent in volume and 94.7 percent in value.
VRA however said the quality of the country's natural rubber exports must improve in order to be competitive in the global market, which has high demand for the product.
In the first four months of the year, about 204,000 tonnes of rubber was exported earning $897 million, up 31.3 percent in volume against the same period last year.
The average export price of rubber in the period surged by $ 1,751 a tonne over the same period to $4,391 per tonne.
According to the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), demand for natural rubber is expected to increase by 4.6 percent this year to around 11.15 million tonnes due to the strong development of global auto industry.
Supply in the world market was projected to increase by 7.4 percent to 10.97 million tonnes, still lower than demand, IRSG said.
Currently, Vietnam’s exports to China account for as much as 60-70 percent of the country's total rubber exports, mostly via the border trade.
Country’s rubber exports will be adversely affected when there is a fall in demand or there are changes in its border trade policy.
Although Vietnam is the world's fourth largest exporter of natural rubber after Thailand , Indonesia and Malaysia , Vietnam 's natural rubber brand was not highly appreciated in the world market.
The country last year had 740,000ha of rubber plantations, an increase of 62,300ha over 2009, ranking fifth in the world in rubber cultivation area after Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia and India .
Vietnam expects to export between 760,000 and 780,000 tonnes of rubber worth $ 2.7-3 billion this year
