Vietnam’s rubber industry is predicted to encounter prolongeddifficulties in the time ahead and as such, it must focus onrestructuring to increase the added value of products and reduce rawmaterial export, said General Secretary of the Vietnam RubberAssociation Vo Hoang An.
In 2014, the SoutheastAsian country maintained the third and fourth position in the world interms of natural rubber output and export value, respectively.
An continued to say with around 977,700 hectares of rubber trees,Vietnam produced 953,700 tonnes of rubber last year, a 0.7 percent risefrom the previous year and accounting for 8.1 percent of the globaloutput following Thailand (34.1 percent) and Indonesia (26.9 percent).
The country exported more than 1 million tonnes ofnatural rubber, valued at 1.78 billion USD, down 0.7 percent in volumeand 28.4 percent in value from 2013 due primarily to plunging prices.
Rubber product exports exceeded 1.5 billion USD in2014 with 551 million USD coming from tyre shipments. The respectivefigures soared by over 30 percent and 51.8 percent from a year earlier,he noted.
Vietnam imported about 372,000 tonnes ofnatural and synthetic rubber worth 639 million USD in 2014. The countrymust import all of its synthetic rubber since it is currently unable tomanufacture synthetic rubber from crude oil.
TheGeneral Secretary underlined an array of difficulties posed for thesector last year as natural rubber prices hit a five-year low,attributable to slow global economic recovery and weak demand. Besides, anosedive in oil prices from mid-2014 helped increase synthetic rubber’scompetitive edge over natural rubber.
Fiercecompetition from other countries has also presented a major challenge,since the quality of Vietnamese natural rubber is often consideredinferior and up to 80 percent of exported rubber is unprocessed, headded.
An cited predictions from internationalorganisations that rubber prices will remain low in the coming years dueto substantially-sized unsold inventory.
To copewith the predicted scenario, he asked producers to reduce the frequencyof latex extraction to cut down expenses and raise productivity,ultimately improving worker income. He also encouraged the replacementof ineffective varieties with high-yield alternatives and intercroppingof rubber trees and others.
He suggested they increase efforts to survey market demand to reform their products appropriately.
Additionally, the industry has to step up its restructuring byintensifying processing activities and designing a comprehensivedevelopment strategy linking rubber growers and businesses.
An also noted that more support policies from state agencies andlocalities are necessary to help the sector overcome hardships.-VNA
In 2014, the SoutheastAsian country maintained the third and fourth position in the world interms of natural rubber output and export value, respectively.
An continued to say with around 977,700 hectares of rubber trees,Vietnam produced 953,700 tonnes of rubber last year, a 0.7 percent risefrom the previous year and accounting for 8.1 percent of the globaloutput following Thailand (34.1 percent) and Indonesia (26.9 percent).
The country exported more than 1 million tonnes ofnatural rubber, valued at 1.78 billion USD, down 0.7 percent in volumeand 28.4 percent in value from 2013 due primarily to plunging prices.
Rubber product exports exceeded 1.5 billion USD in2014 with 551 million USD coming from tyre shipments. The respectivefigures soared by over 30 percent and 51.8 percent from a year earlier,he noted.
Vietnam imported about 372,000 tonnes ofnatural and synthetic rubber worth 639 million USD in 2014. The countrymust import all of its synthetic rubber since it is currently unable tomanufacture synthetic rubber from crude oil.
TheGeneral Secretary underlined an array of difficulties posed for thesector last year as natural rubber prices hit a five-year low,attributable to slow global economic recovery and weak demand. Besides, anosedive in oil prices from mid-2014 helped increase synthetic rubber’scompetitive edge over natural rubber.
Fiercecompetition from other countries has also presented a major challenge,since the quality of Vietnamese natural rubber is often consideredinferior and up to 80 percent of exported rubber is unprocessed, headded.
An cited predictions from internationalorganisations that rubber prices will remain low in the coming years dueto substantially-sized unsold inventory.
To copewith the predicted scenario, he asked producers to reduce the frequencyof latex extraction to cut down expenses and raise productivity,ultimately improving worker income. He also encouraged the replacementof ineffective varieties with high-yield alternatives and intercroppingof rubber trees and others.
He suggested they increase efforts to survey market demand to reform their products appropriately.
Additionally, the industry has to step up its restructuring byintensifying processing activities and designing a comprehensivedevelopment strategy linking rubber growers and businesses.
An also noted that more support policies from state agencies andlocalities are necessary to help the sector overcome hardships.-VNA
