Soaring Chinese Demand Pulling Vietnam's Rubber Prices up

Export prices of Vietnamese rubber will continue to rocket in the remainder of 2006 when China scales up importing a huge amount of natural rubber to meet its booming demand for tires and inner tubes, according to the Ministry of Trade’s Information Center.

 

The center, however, did not give any specific prediction about the new price level.

 

But the China Rubber Association said rubber prices in China may reach record to 30,000 yuan (US$3,814) per ton in early 2007. The Chinese tire industry’s plan to increase total output to 18 million tires in 2006 and 320 million in 2010 is the major reason for the price hike.

 

At the moment, rubber export price to China is now standing at 14,500-14,700 yuan (US$1,840-1,866) per ton at Mong Cai border gate, up 500 yuan against the levels in late October. 

 

China is now still the biggest consumer of Vietnamese rubber. It spent more than $633 million importing some 388,688 tons of rubber from Vietnam in the past ten months of this year, accounting for 68.6 per cent of Vietnam’s total rubber shipment volume in the period.

 

Since October, some 1,600 tons of rubber is exported to China daily, around 300-600 tons higher than the previous months.