Rubber sector earns over $165 million from exports
Rubber sector earns over $165 million from exports
Cambodia exported more than 110,000 tonnes of dry rubber in the first five months of 2024, an increase of 2.43 percent in the same period of 2023, according to the report of the General Directorate of Rubber of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The country earned more than $165 million in revenue from exports of rubber products, an increase of nearly 13 percent over the same period, Khun Kakada, Acting Director General of the General Directorate of Rubber, said in the report.
The report further read, the total rubber area is 407,172 hectares, of which the rubber plantation area is 320,184 hectares or 78.64 percent and the maintenance area is 86,988 hectares or 21.36 percent.
He added that the area of agro-industrial rubber is 226,840 hectares or 55.71 percent and the area of family rubber plantation is 180,332 hectares or 44.29 percent.
In the first five months this year, the rubber production was 109,945 tonnes, an increase of 1,727 tonnes, equivalent to 1.60 percent compared to the same period last year.
“The export of dry rubber as of May 2024 was 110,772 tonnes, an increase of 2,624 tonnes, equivalent to 2.43 percent compared to the same period last year,” said Kakada.
Regarding the average of selling price of rubber in May 2024, the price was $1,552 per tonne, an increase of $20 per tonne, equivalent to 1. 30 percent compared to the April, and it increased by $132 per tonne, equivalent to 9.30 percent compared to the same period last year.
Kakada said that in the first five months of this year, the export revenue of rubber was more than $165.5 million, an increase of 12. 96 percent compared to the same period last year.
The General Directorate of Rubber stated that the department will continue to work hard to implement the planned to achieve good results, continue to cooperate with the Department of Agriculture, state-owned rubber plantations, economic land concessions, family rubber plantations, processing plants and purchasing office in order to promote rubber technology and rubber data collection.
“Continue to cooperate with national and international rubber associations in rubber research and development,” Kakada stressed.
It may be noted that Cambodia earned $919 million from the export of rubber and rubber articles in 2023, recording a growth of 69.6 percent compared to the previous year. The Cambodian rubber market mainly consists of China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and the European Union (EU).
According to the General Directorate of Rubber, Cambodia exported 368,048 tonnes of dry rubber in 2023, a slight decrease of 1.3 percent from 372,903 tonnes in 2022. The country made $490.6 million in revenue from exports of the commodity last year, down 7 percent from $527.6 million in the year before.
Chea Sayin, owner of rubber plantation in Memot district’s Tbong Khmum province, told Khmer Times yesterday that the cost of dry rubber is lucrative.
He said that for wet rubber costs from 2,500 riel to 2,800 riel per kilogram, while dry rubber costs from 3,000 riel to 3,500 riel per kilogram.
“I have five hectares of rubber plantations that I have been planting since 2002, and the market for rubber is still good, high price and dealer come to buy in the rubber plantations,” said Sayin.
“I think rubber plantation is a better crop than others. Although it takes many years to grow until it is harvested, but we can harvest many years.”
He adding that the best months for rubber harvesting is in cold weather.
