The rubber industry is expected to reach this year's export target of US$1.5 billion thanks to a price hike in the world market, said the Viet Nam Rubber Association.

The association said that rubber supplies from the world's larger exporters had reduced due to unfavourable weather while the rubber demands of the world's leading rubber importers, remained high. As a result, rubber prices on the global market skyrocketed to $3,270 per tonne in September, up 250 per cent against the same period last year.

The association's General Secrectary Tran Thi Thuy Hoa said that thanks to the price hike, Viet Nam's rubber exports in the first nine months rose by 10.9 per cent in volume to 531,000 tonnes and doubled in value to $1.45 billion compared to the same period last year. China was Viet Nam's biggest customer, accounting for more than 57 per cent of the country's total rubber export value.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries predicted that the rubber output worldwide this year would be around 9.5 million tonnes, an increase of 6.3 per cent over 2009. However, output is likely to decrease from 2011 as countries are forced to renew their plantations and the price of rubber is expected to remain high as a result.

Viet Nam had rubber plantations stretching across 640,000ha at the end of last year and exported around 680,000 tonnes worth over $1.2 billion to 70 markets. Under a Government scheme, the country will have 800,000ha of rubber by 2020, producing 1.2 million tonnes with an export turnover of $2 billion.

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)