[INNEWS report] Recently, the Rubber Management Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia issued a report that the decline in rubber prices in the international market has led to a decrease in Cambodia’s revenue from the export of rubber and rubber wood.
In the first seven months of this year, Cambodia’s rubber exports totaled nearly US$230 million, a drop of more than 10% compared with the same period in 2022.
The report shows that from January to July 2023, the export volume of rubber and rubber wood was approximately 170,968 tons, equivalent to US$229.52 million, a decrease of 10.85% from the same period in 2022. The average export price of rubber was US$1,337 per ton, a year-on-year decrease of 15%, equivalent to a decrease of US$244 per ton. The average export price of rubber wood is US$215 per cubic meter.
Khuon Phalla, director of the Rubber Management Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, said that due to the decline in international rubber prices, Cambodia’s rubber and rubber wood export revenue has declined. The crisis has not only reduced the demand for rubber but also increased rubber stocks in different countries. In addition, the Russia-Ukraine war also triggered a global economic crisis and exchange rate fluctuations, resulting in a decline in rubber prices in the international market.
Khuon Phalla said that as of July 2023, the area of new rubber plantations in Cambodia has also increased. As of the end of 2022, the rubber planting area reached 404,578 hectares, of which the rubber planting area was 315,332 hectares, accounting for 78%, and the conservation area was 89,246 hectares, accounting for 22%.
It is understood that the global economic and geopolitical factors triggered by the Ukrainian war are also important factors in the decline in rubber demand. According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia’s rubber export value in 2022 will be approximately US$531 million.
