In an interview granted to Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam (Vietnam EconomicTimes), Hoa revealed that last year the sector’s total export valuereached 4.26 billion USD. Overall rubber ranked eighth among thecountry’s export staples after garment and textiles, telephones, crudeoil, electronic products, footwear, seafood and machinery.
She said that the increasing global rubber demand in recent years hasencouraged Vietnam to expand its rubber farming to increase export valueand improve the socio-economic situation in many localities. As aresult, Vietnam has become the fifth biggest natural rubber producer inthe world with 910,500 ha of land under rubber trees, producing 836,600tonnes of rubber in 2012, she said.
She added thatthe country also ranked fourth in terms of the amount of natural rubberfor export, which accounted for 10.6 percent of the market share in2012. The nation’s rubber tree productivity is about 1,707 tonnes oflatex per ha, generating 105 million VND, ranking third after India andThailand.
Market difficulties have arisen this yeardue to the insufficient recovery of the global economy, the increase ofworld supply and the growing amount of competition, Hoa noted.
For a sustainable rubber export strategy, Hoa said the VRA is workingwith the Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Industry and Trade torebuild a trade promotion programme with more focus.
It is also encouraging companies to exchange information on price,consumption and market situation to create a suitable trading plan.
Rubber companies, for their part, should improve product quality tomeet the demand for export, Hoa said, adding that the VRA is planning toestablish a rubber trading floor in 2015 to ensure transparent pricesfor both the buyers and the sellers.-VNA