However, rubber exports decreased from US$94 million in April to just US$60 million in May as volumes dropped from 32,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes. 

The Vietnam Rubber Association (VNRA) attributed May’s reduction to a decrease in exports to China, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the country’s total rubber exports. 

The VNRA attributed the price rise in January-May to hikes in the world market. However, the export volume dropped 4.4 percent year on year to just 176,000 tonnes. 

The VNRA said the rubber export price had risen by US$400 a tonne since early December 2009 and was predicted to remain high in the second quarter of this year. 

Vietnam currently has 160,000ha of rubber and plans to extend the growing area to 520,000ha by 2020. The country’s annual output is about 300,000 tonnes.

The export value of latex products, particularly tyres, in the first five months reached almost US$638 million, double that of the same period last year. 
According to the VNRA, tyres account for 83 percent of the country’s latex products.