APD | China remains largest importer of Vietnamese rubber

By APD writer Alice

HANOI, Mar. 24 (APD) -- China remained the largest importer of Vietnamese rubber in the first two months of 2019 as it splashed out more than 196 million USD on buying 153,190 tonnes, a year-on-year surge of 35 percent in value and 53.7 percent in quantity. 

However, the rubber price in this market dropped 12.1 percent year-on-year to 1,279 USD each tonne, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia are three main rubber suppliers to China. In 2018, China increased rubber imports from Vietnam, hitting 1.02 million tonnes worth 1.4 million USD, up 16.6 percent in volume but down 4.4 percent in value as compared to the previous year.

The Vietnamese rubber price also slid in India, the second biggest consumer of Vietnamese rubber. Each tonne of rubber was sold at 1,339 USD in the market, a year-on-year fall of 12.14 percent. In the two-month period, Vietnam exported 21,100 tonnes of rubber to the southern Asian country and pocketed 28.4 million USD, shooting 42.87 percent in volume and 23.99 percent in value.

Vietnam’s rubber shipments to the Republic of Korea inched up 7.7 percent in the period while those to the US and Germany dwindled 6.6 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs said that Vietnam gained over 305 million USD from shipping more than 237,000 tonnes of rubber abroad in January-February, up 11.5 percent in value and 27.3 percent in volume from the same time last year.

The average rubber price in February stood at 1,322 USD per tonne, jumping 4 percent from the previous month but falling 11.5 percent as compared to the same month in 2018. 

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)