The cost of latex has reached a record high, climbing to over 90 million VND ( 4,300 USD) per tonne due to short supply, said general secretary of the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA) Tran Thi Thuy Hoa.

"This is the highest it's ever been. It's even higher than before the world recession," Hoa said.

"While demand on the production industry has increased significantly thanks to the recovery of the world economy, supplies from main rubber export countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have remained low," Hoa said, explaining that rubber yields had been affected by bad weather conditions.

"Due to this, global supply increased by only 5 percent and the price is likely to continue to rise," she added.

The VRA changed its projections for national rubber export turnover after the price of latex started to rise in September.

"In August, we predicted an annual export turnover of about 1.5 billion USD. Now, thanks to the higher price, the export turnover for the whole year is forecast to be more than 2.2 billion USD," Hoa said.

If this forecast proved to be correct, it would equate to a 23 percent increase compared to 2008 and a year-on-year increase of 45 percent.

While the high price was profitable for exporters, it strongly affected production companies.

"Companies which produce tyres, rubber gloves and mattresses are struggling due to the high price," Hoa said.

In the world market, the price of latex is also up. On Dec. 16, it hit 4,700 USD per tonne in Tokyo .

It is predicted to further increase with demand from China , the biggest consumer in the world market, increasing 13 percent year-on-year in November./.