Cambodia exported 61,969 tonnes of dry rubber in the first half of 2015, earning US$84.2mn in gross revenue, said the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce
The rubber exports this year have increased 47 per cent from 42,189 tonnes exported last year at the same time, added the ministry. The revenue from 2014 was US$75mn,
Cambodian rubber was mainly purchased by Malaysia, Vietnam, China, South Korea as well as some European nations.
Overall, the price of rubber has been falling. As of May, the ministry said the price of rubber per tonne was US$1,650 per tonne. However, the ministry said that as of Monday, the price per tonne fell to US$1,533 – an 18 per cent drop from the price recorded the same time last year.
The price of rubber is on the decline, mainly propelled by the fall in global demand, especially China. Rubber cultivation has slowed down to nearly half, said an official in the Cambodian agriculture ministry. Until 2014, the Southeast Asian nation planted rubber trees covering an area of 357,809 hectares. However, five years ago, nearly 20,000 hectares of land were cultivated for rubber per year, but now, the figure is closer to 10,000 hectares per year.
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – which account for about 70 per cent of global rubber production – are working together to reduce supply and decide export caps.
