Experts have said that great market opportunities will open for Vietnam if sustainable natural rubber production receives adequate Government support with enterprises determined to follow sustainable development.
Vietnam's rubber industry needs to develop its production chain to meet the increasing demands of export markets, especially fastidious markets such as Europe and the US, according to experts.
The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) has announced that it will raise the volume of VRG-branded natural rubber to nearly 323,600 tonnes this year, making up 86 percent of its total exploited output.
Sustainable latex production is important for Vietnam’s rubber industry, and the country should focus on getting rubber plantations to obtain certifications on sustainability, experts have said.
Thailand's natural rubber industry is likely to remain depressed this year despite a sharp rise in demand for protective rubber gloves driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malaysia's natural rubber production was 46,881 tonnes in February, down 29.2 percent from the previous month and 20.6 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Malaysian Statistics Department.
Vietnam earned 2.02 billion USD from exporting 1.5 million tonnes of rubber between January and November, rising 7.6 percent in value and 8.1 percent in volume year on year.
Vietnam earned 662 million USD from rubber exports in the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Thailand will cut rubber exports by 126,240 tonnes next week for four months after a delay to implement a supply cut agreement with other regional producers, the Rubber Authority of Thailand said on May 16.
Thailand, the world’s top natural rubber producer, would delay its cuts in rubber exports till May 20 instead of the initially planned date of April 1 due to its general election, according to officials from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Three large producers of natural rubber in Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have agreed to cut down rubber exports by some 200,000-300,000 tonnes to tackle the decreasing price of the commodity.
The natural rubber output of Malaysia in September was 49,022 tonnes, falling 22 percent on a monthly basis, according to the country’s Department of Statistics.
The rubber industry of Vietnam is facing a dire need to better adapt itself to the market situation as it is likely to be affected by the US-China trade tension that is forecast to not end soon.
With rapid growth in both planting area and production, Vietnam has become the world’s third largest natural rubber exporter, accounting for about 8.1 percent of the world’s total rubber production.
Rubber businesses should devise sustainable development strategies to maximise opportunities generated by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on June 14.
Thailand will begin reduce the export of natural rubber as from January 2018 to counter declining world rubber prices, according to the country’s agriculture ministry.
Vietnam earned more than 2 billion USD from exporting 1.2 million tonnes of rubber during January-November, up 39 percent in value and 8.4 percent in volume, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
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