Rubber producers must develop specific risk management strategies in context of US-China trade tensions.(Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Rubber producers must developspecific risk management strategies, which cover market risks and productlegality, in order to avoid getting hurt by the current US-China trade tensions,according to To Xuan Phuc, a senior policy analyst from Forest Trends.
Vietnamese rubber sales largely depend on Chinese tradersas China has remained Vietnam’s biggest consumer for years, accounting for over60 percent of local natural rubber exports.
The escalating trade war between the US and China willcertainly have direct impacts on Vietnam’s rubber industry, Phuc said. Most Chineserubber imports from Vietnam go into tire manufacturing and the rubber demandfrom China is likely to be disrupted by the raised tariffs that the US hasimposed on automobile parts made in the East Asian country, he explained.
Furthermore, studies have shown that by 2030, the globalprices of natural rubber may not recover to the levels of 2011.
He recommended that rubber producers plan ahead toeffectively restructure the supply chain, shift production from raw tohigh-value processed products, and seek more buyers on the domestic market.
Tran Thi Thuy Hoa, head of the Advisory Committee forRubber under the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA), said that in order topromote the industry’s reputation, the VRA and the Vietnam Rubber Group havejointly implemented a project for Vietnamese rubber branding with theregistration of a “Vietnamese rubber” trademark in international markets likeChina and India.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warnedVietnamese rubber exporters that they will probably face a rougher ride aheadas a consequence of declining demand from key markets. So they must be moreactive in finding new partners to reduce dependence on traditional markets, theministry added.
Vietnam is the world’s third largest rubber producer withapproximately 970,000ha of rubber farms and a total output of 1.1 million tonneslast year. In the first three quarters of 2018, the country exported 1.06million tonnes of rubber for 1.45 billion USD, up 19.9 percent and down 10percent, respectively, from the previous year.
The country’s three main rubber products included naturalrubber, processed rubber, and rubber wood. In 2017, Vietnam shipped 6.4 billionUSD worth of these products abroad, contributing to 5.4 percent of total nationalexports.–VNA
VNA
