Rubber production rises; price hits up to K1,600 per pound

The rubber outputs increased in October compared to last month’s production rate. Rubber prices touched a high of K1,600 per pound, said rubber growers.
Heavy rainfall hit some rubber growing areas in September. During the tapping season, rubber fetched a K1,500 per pound. Rubber industry ramped up this month (October), U Tin Htut, a rubber farmer, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
In 2021, the price of rubber was K1,000 per pound in the tapping season. This year, the price rose to K1,480-1,600 per pound.
Myanmar’s rubber production is estimated at 200,000 tonnes ever year and more than 90 per cent of production goes to external markets. Only eight per cent is sent to domestic markets.
Rubber is commonly grown in southern Myanmar areas: Mon and Kayin states. It is also found in Yangon, Bago and Taninthayi regions. There are 500,000 acres of rubber in Mon State and nearly 270,000 acres in Kayin State. The overall rubber areas are estimated at 1.6 million acres across the country.
Last year, the price of ribbed smoked sheet (RSS-3) was K1,200 per pound. This year, the RSS-3 is valued at K1,450 per pound in the second week of October. The price is likely to climb up to K1,600 per pound on the back of strong foreign demand, Ko Khaing Gyi, a rubber dealer, told the GNLM.
Myanmar shipped nearly 2,460 tonnes of rubber worth $3.572 million by sea in September 2022, while it delivered 6,350 tonnes of rubber worth $8.423 million to neighbouring countries via the cross-border trade channels, with nearly 5,380 tonnes of rubber to China and over 970 tonnes of rubber to Thailand.
The export volume of rubber in September was down by 3,500 tonnes compared to October’s rubber export volume (8,810 tonnes). China was the main buyer of Myanmar’s rubber last month. Myanmar’s rubber is exported to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China (Taipei) and India, according to Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association.—TWA/GNLM