Rubber exports in the first seven months of this year rose in both volume and value, according to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The department reported that in July, Vietnam shipped abroad 150,000 tonnes of rubber for 211 million USD, up 22.2 percent in volume and 20.9 percent in value compared to the previous month.

Compared to July 2018, the increases were 5.7 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. The price rose 6.4 percent compared to the same period last year to 1,407 USD per tonne.

In the January-July period, rubber export volume reached 764,000 tonnes with a value of 1.05 billion USD, representing increases of 8.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that rubber prices were down in July due to impact from the US-China trade tension and worry of slow recovery of the global economy that may affect demand of the world.

Good growth was seen in the Republic of Korea (RoK) market. In the first six months of 2019, the country imported more rubber from Vietnam despite its falling demand. In the period, the RoK consumed nearly 280,000 tonnes worth 32.95 million USD of Vietnamese rubber, up 13.3 percent in volume and 2.6 percent in value over the same time of 2018.

The market share of Vietnamese rubber in the RoK market rose to 8 percent in the first six months of this year from 6.9 percent in the same period of 2018