Export prices of natural rubber will continue to soar to around $1,800-2,000 per kilo in the coming weeks in the global market due to increasing demand, according to forecasts of the Ministry of Trade.
In April, export prices of Vietnamese rubber were averaging around $1,750-2,100 per ton, up from $1,690-1,710 in March.
The ministry said that prices of natural rubber have sharply jumped during the last month in the Asian market due to thin supplies from large natural rubber export countries in Southeast Asia and increased oil prices.
Meanwhile, demand for natural rubber continues to rocket, especially in such developed Asian countries as India, China, South Korea and Japan. Total demand for natural rubber in 2006 is forecast to rise by 3.8 per cent over last year.
Vietnamese processors, who consume 12 per cent of the country’s total rubber output or just 60,000 tons per year, said that the soar of natural rubber prices is hurting them, pushing production cost to higher levels and reducing profits.
But, the Vietnam General Rubber Association said that the forecast higher prices in the near future will benefit Vietnamese farmers, adding that the country is expected to produce 540,000 metric tons of rubber this year, up from 510,000 tons last year.
Vietnamese rubber companies usually produce about 10 per cent of their total annual output in the first quarter of the year, 20 per cent in the second quarter, 30 per cent in the third quarter and 40 per cent in the fourth quarter, the ministry said.
Vietnam Economic Times
Vietnamese
