Vietnam exported 451,000 tonnes of rubber for 832 million USD from January-July, down 10 percent and 32.3 percent in volume and value respectively over the same period last year.

The export price of rubber averaged over 1,870 USD per tonne in the first half of this year, 52 percent lower than the level in the same period of 2011. Given the fact, Vietnam plans to reduce the export volume to 1 million tonne for the entire year, down 7 percent from last year.

China remained the largest market, consuming nearly 40 percent of Vietnam ’s total rubber exports; however, both export volume and value to the neighbouring country also saw big decreases during the period, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association. Nearly 139,000 tonnes of the product were shipped to China , raking in 248 million USD, representing a year-on-year reduction of 42.6 percent in value and 23.6 percent in volume.

Last year, Vietnam surpassed Malaysia and India to become the third largest rubber producer in the world, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

The association reported that the country’s rubber output was estimated to hit 1.043 million tonnes, up 20.8 percent from a year earlier.

The cultivation acreage of the plant has continued to expand, doubling over the past decade from 450,000 ha in 2003 to 955,000 hectares in 2013.-VNA