Rubber exports to reach US$4.36 billion in 2016

Specifically, Vietnam’s total exports of natural rubber are to reach US$1.66 billion by the year’s end. 

The country is also to export US$1.5 billion of rubber products such as tyres, rubber accessories and conveyors, in addition to US$1.2 billion from products made from rubber wood.

According to Tran Ngoc Thuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA), the domestic sector, as well as global natural rubber exports, has been faced with a range of difficulties due to a continued decline in prices lasting from 2012 to 2016.

Consumption of natural rubber increased slowly while the surplus in output resulted in oversupply, making rubber inventories increase and putting pressure on continuously declining prices. 

Even at some times, rubber prices fell below production costs, negatively affecting rubber producers and leading rubber plantations to switch to other crops.

However, most Vietnamese enterprises and rubber farmers have sought to maintain production while increasing the efficiency of land use and diversifying sources of income from rubber, plus applying advanced technologies to lower costs and increase productivity.

Thanks to the efforts of the rubber industry, Vietnam continues to hold the number-two spot in rubber productivity and ranks third globally in output and exports. 

In 2015, rubber plantation areas across the country reached more than 981,000ha with production reached 1 million tonnes. It is forecast that rubber production in 2016 will exceed 1.2 million tonnes.

The year 2016 also marked an important milestone for Vietnam’s rubber industry. 

For the first time, the certification mark “Vietnam Rubber” was officially announced after two years of licensing and constructing related legal documents. 

Accordingly, VRA is the legal owner of the “Vietnam Rubber” certification mark.

The brand is used with Vietnamese rubber products that the enterprise has committed to meeting quality standards and other related criteria applied to Vietnam’s rubber industry.

Thuan said that in the context of fiercer competition among rubber-exporting countries, Vietnam’s rubber industry is faced with a range of difficulties and challenges due to uneven product quality and lack of a brand for the whole industry. 

So, the use of the “Vietnam Rubber” trademark would help improve the sector’s competitiveness and Vietnamese enterprises’ reputation, in addition to building trust among foreign partners selecting rubber imported from Vietnam.

Currently, with 80% of its exports coming from raw materials, Vietnam’s rubber sector relies heavily on the constantly fluctuating rubber prices on the world market. 

To support the rubber industry’s restructuring towards higher added value and sustainable development, the country has planned to increase the consumption of natural rubber on the domestic market to 30% and to facilitate the processing of rubber and rubber wood products.