[07 Jan] Vietnam Earns Nearly 1.2 bln USD from Rubber Export in 2009

Vietnam exported 726,000 tons of rubber in 2009, bringing in about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 10. 3 percent year-on-year in volume and down 25.2 percent in value year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam on Tuesday.

The decrease in export value was due to the fluctuation of the Vietnamese rubber prices in the international markets, said the industry insiders.

Vietnam has now become the fourth biggest rubber exporter in the world after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, according to Vietnam Rubber Association.

China is the biggest importer of Vietnamese rubber, accounting for more than 65 percent of Vietnam's total rubber export volume this year. Other big importers include Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, Japan and European Union countries.

In 2010, Vietnam plans to plant 70,000 hectares of rubber trees, increasing the country's total rubber areas to 650,000 hectares. The country is expected to rake in 1.6 billion U.S. dollars from rubber export, according to the government's rubber development strategy.

(Source: irco.biz)