HÀ NỘI — The average export price of rubber in the first four months of 2017 was US$2,016 per tonne, a year-on-year increase of 68.8 per cent.

The rise in rates has raised the product’s export value, despite its decreasing output in the same period.

The General Department of Việt Nam Customs reported that since the beginning of this year to the end of April, rubber exports touched 301,500 tonnes in volume, a drop of 2.1 per cent against the same period last year. However, its turnover hit $607.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 65.4 per cent.

On May 22, the price of SVR CV and SVR L rubber stood at VNĐ50,752 (US$2.23) and VNĐ49,620 per kilo, up 1.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, compared to early May.

The rise in rubber export rates is linked to its rising price in the world market, the falling rubber stockpile at Tokyo Commodity Exchange’s (TOCOM) bonded warehouse, as well as the decline in Việt Nam’s rubber output for export.

Việt Nam is among the three largest rubber exporters in the world, after Thailand and Indonesia.

In April 2017, Việt Nam exported the most mixtures of natural and synthetic rubber at 26,213 tonnes, worth $47.5 million, accounting for 50.5 per cent of the rubber sector’s volume. Its SVR 3L rubber output was 8,643 tonnes, down 5.7 per cent in volume over the previous month, while its SVR 10 rubber export was 5,191 tonnes, down 11.4 per cent in volume over the previous month.

China is the leading importer of Vietnamese rubber, accounting for 63.2 per cent with 190,000 tonnes, worth $383.7 million, a 12.08 per cent rise in volume and nearly 90 per cent in value over the same period last year. — VNS