The current economic crisis should be used as a fallow period to develop the national rubber industry so it can fully exploit the recovery in a few years, agriculture deputy minister Ho Xuan Hung told Viet Nam News on the sidelines of the recent International Rubber Conference. The conference was attended by 14 major rubber growing nations.
At present, the country stands fourth on exports and fifth on quantity with 600,000 – 700,000 tonnes of sap collected from 620,000 hectares of plantations. We export around 94 per cent of natural rubber, but mostly as raw material.
Natural rubber this year generated around US$1 billion in export turnover with total production (both local consumption and export) of 663,000 tonnes.
International experts have predicted that worldwide demand for rubber will increase from 1.1 million tonnes in 2012 to 3.4 million in 2015. That will be an impressive increase and rubber exporting nations should be ready for the big chance.
The financial crisis is a good chance for us to expand the cultivation area because we need around five – seven years before we can tap the new trees for sap.
The most important thing is to set up a rubber processing industry. Under the plan, the Government is determined to process 25-30 per cent or 350,000 tonnes of rubber for export by 2015. We can’t continue to export 94 per cent of rubber as raw material like we are doing right now.
The Government has pledged many incentive policies for enterprises setting up processing facilities, including marketing support and inviting foreign investors to open factories in Viet Nam.
We can take China as a good example. They process rubber not only for domestic demand but also for export. We should follow them to increase the value of our rubber products.
Therefore, the urgent work is to establish the processing industry. This will be a sustainable and long-term development for rubber industry.
If we had a developed processing industry along with a good preservation system, we can dominate the international market at high prices.
Over the next decade, the country’s orientation will be toward the development of several selected rubber-based products, such as the development of centrifugal latex production and latex-based industrial products. — VNS
- What is the position of Viet Nam on the global rubber export map?
At present, the country stands fourth on exports and fifth on quantity with 600,000 – 700,000 tonnes of sap collected from 620,000 hectares of plantations. We export around 94 per cent of natural rubber, but mostly as raw material.
Natural rubber this year generated around US$1 billion in export turnover with total production (both local consumption and export) of 663,000 tonnes.
- What are the prospects for the nation’s rubber industry when the global economy recovers?
International experts have predicted that worldwide demand for rubber will increase from 1.1 million tonnes in 2012 to 3.4 million in 2015. That will be an impressive increase and rubber exporting nations should be ready for the big chance.
- What will Viet Nam do to grab this opportunity?
The financial crisis is a good chance for us to expand the cultivation area because we need around five – seven years before we can tap the new trees for sap.
The most important thing is to set up a rubber processing industry. Under the plan, the Government is determined to process 25-30 per cent or 350,000 tonnes of rubber for export by 2015. We can’t continue to export 94 per cent of rubber as raw material like we are doing right now.
The Government has pledged many incentive policies for enterprises setting up processing facilities, including marketing support and inviting foreign investors to open factories in Viet Nam.
We can take China as a good example. They process rubber not only for domestic demand but also for export. We should follow them to increase the value of our rubber products.
Therefore, the urgent work is to establish the processing industry. This will be a sustainable and long-term development for rubber industry.
If we had a developed processing industry along with a good preservation system, we can dominate the international market at high prices.
Over the next decade, the country’s orientation will be toward the development of several selected rubber-based products, such as the development of centrifugal latex production and latex-based industrial products. — VNS
(Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn)
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