Central Highlands not to expand rubber area hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Dak Lak (VNA) – The Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Dang Nong, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum will focus on raising rubber latex productivity instead of expanding the area of rubber trees.

According to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands Region, the localities collected more than 200,000 tonnes of rubber latex in 2016 with Gia Lai and Kon Tum recording the highest amount.

Since 2016, the provinces have banned the transformation of natural forests into plantations of industrial trees in general as well as rubber in particular.

Statistics show that the region now houses nearly 251,350 ha of rubber trees.

Up to 220 projects turning exhausted forests or forestry land into rubber farms have been implemented in the region. However, such projects have failed to yield good results.

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

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

China is the leading importer of Vietnamese rubber, accounting for 63.2 percent with 190,000 tonnes valued at 383.7 million USD, a 12.08 percent rise in volume and nearly 90 percent in value over the same period last year.-VNA
VNA