Vietnam saw a fall in both rubber output and export in the first five months of this year, according to the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG).

In the January-May period, the country shipped abroad 239,000 tonnes of rubber for 473 million USD, down 20.2 percent in volume and 39.2 percent in value compared to the same period last year, reported the VRG.

Meanwhile, the average rubber price also dropped 25 percent year on year, falling to 1,990 USD per tonne.

By June 13, the VRG alone exported 42,043 tonnes and sold out 39,767 tonnes in the domestic market, earning over 3.7 trillion VND in total, equivalent to 24.6 percent of the yearly plan.

Experts commented that despite dips normally seen in the first half of every year, the results are still disappointing.

According to the VRG, the reasons behind the fall were the gloomy global economic situation and the abundant supplies and low demand in the world market, leading to a high inventory and low price.

A recent report by the International Rubber Study Group also showed that 174,000 tonnes of natural rubber in the world will be unsold this year.-VNA