Rubber exports plunge in first seven months
Vietnam exported 451,000 tonnes of rubber worth US$832 million in the first seven months of the year, down 10% and 32.3% in volume and value respectively over the same period last year.
The export price of rubber averaged about US$1,870 per tonne in the first half of this year, 52% lower than in 2011.
Due to this, Vietnam plans to reduce its export volume to one million tonnes for the entire year, down 7% from last year.
China remained the largest market, consuming nearly 40% of Vietnam's total rubber exports; but both export volume and value to the neighbouring country saw large declines during the period, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association.
Nearly 139,000 tonnes of rubber products were shipped to China raking in US$248 million, representing a year-on-year drop of 42.6% in value and 23.6% 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.