Cambodia's revenues from rubber export decline 26 pct in 1st five months

Cambodia's revenues from rubber export decline 26 pct in 1st five months

Cambodia reported Monday that the revenues from rubber export had decreased by 26 percent in the first five months of this year due to the downward rubber price in the international market.

During the January-May period 2012, the country had exported 18, 000 tons of rubber latex, up 8 percent compared with the same period last year, but it earned the revenues of only 61 million U. S. dollars, down 26 percent from 83 million U.S. dollars at the same period last year, a report of the commerce ministry showed.

"Revenue decline is due to the price of rubber in the international market this year is far lower than that last year," Mok Kimhong, president of Cambodian Rubber Association, said.

The price of the best quality rubber sells at 3,299 U.S. dollars a ton in the international market on Monday, a sharp decrease of 37 percent from 5,249 U.S. dollars at this time last year.

Cambodia's rubber latex has usually been exported to Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

To date, the country has about 213,100 hectares of rubber plantations, most of them are too young to be yielded, according to the annual report of the agriculture ministry.

In 2011, the country exported 46,730 tons of rubber latex, earning the total revenues of 201 million U.S. dollars.

xinhua