Viet Nam earned US$220 million from shipping 175,000 tonnes of rubber abroad in January, up 10.8 per cent in value and 28.9 per cent in volume compared to the same month last year.

Experts predict further growth in rubber exports this year with global demand set to rise 4.2 per cent to 14.59 million tonnes, while total output is forecast at 14.84 million tonnes.

The domestic rubber industry will also benefit from the increase of crude oil prices to push rubber prices up. However, Chairman of the Rubber Plastic Manufacturer Association Nguyen Quoc Anh said high stock levels could exert pressure on rubber suppliers.

Further, demand growth in China, which accounts for 40 per cent of global consumption, slowed to 3.2 per cent from 5.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 per cent in 2017 on the country’s economic downturn. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade believes that rubber exports to India are unlikely to see strong expansion like in 2018 as domestic rubber supply is bouncing back, and the Indian government is carrying out measures to support rubber farmers, including increasing import taxes.

Last year, Viet Nam sold 102,920 tonnes of rubber to India and earned $145.39 million, up 85.6 per cent in quantity and 60.5 per cent in value from the previous year. — VNS