Rubber export exceeds $344.9 mln in eight months

Myanmar’s rubber export generated more than US$344.9 million revenue in the past eight months (Oct-May) of the current financial year 2020-2021, the Ministry of Commerce’s data showed.
The price of domestic natural rubber depends on model of supply and demand when the harvest season ends. The rubber production usually declines during the off-season and it was priced around K900 per pound, according to Mawlamyine commodity wholesale centre.
Myanmar’s natural rubber price is also tracking the global rates, Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA) stated.
The growing demand of rubber gloves during the early outbreak coronavirus pandemic, shortage of natural rubber, the depreciation of Kyat were the reasons of price rise last year, rubber exporters pointed out.
Myanmar’s rubber is priced lower than the international rate owing to raw material variability. Rubber price stood at US$2,600 per tonne in 2020-end in global market, whereas Myanmar rubber fetched only $2,100 per pound.
Rubber is primarily produced in Mon and Kayin states and Taninthayi, Bago, and Yangon regions in Myanmar. As per 2018-2019 rubber season’s data, there are over 1.628 million acres of rubber plantations in Myanmar, with Mon State accounting for 497,153 acres, followed by Taninthayi Region with 348,344 acres and Kayin State with 270,760 acres. About 300,000 tonnes of rubber is produced annually across the country. Seventy per cent of rubber produced in Myanmar goes to China. It is also shipped to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, the Republic of Korea, India, Japan, and other countries, according to the MRPPA.
About 300,000 tonnes of rubber is produced annually across the country. Seventy per cent of rubber produced in Myanmar goes to China. It is also shipped to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Korea, India, Japan, and other countries.
At present, Myanmar is exporting only rubber sheets owing to lack of machinery and technology. Export rubber varieties include synthetic rubber, ribbed smoked sheet RSS 1, 3 and 5, Myanmar Standard Rubber MSR-20, Technically Specified Rubber TSR-20, and Crepe Rubber.
About 150,000 tons of rubber was exported in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Myanmar shipped over 190,000 tonnes of rubber, with an estimated value of $250 million, to external markets in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, an increase of 41,000 tons which helped boost earnings by $60 million compared to the year-ago period, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce.  Myanmar exported over 200,000 tonnes of natural rubber to foreign countries last FY 2019-2020, generating income of over $200 million.—GNLM