Rubber prices stay low in domestic market

The prices of rubber dipped around K1,600 per pound in Mon State’s rubber market. The prices touched a high of K1,790 per pound of Ribbed Smoked Sheet Local 3 and K1,770 for sun-dried rubber on 18 October. The prevailing prices moved down to K1,610 per pound for sundried rubber and K1,630 for RSS Local 3.

Global demand for rubber, rubber production in the Southeast Asian nations, and the market supply are contributing factors to Myanmar’s rubber prices.

The rubber price in Mon State, a major rubber production state in Myanmar, is closely tied to those factors as well, the traders elaborated.

Myanmar’s annual rubber production is estimated at 300,000 tonnes. Seventy per cent of rubber produced in Myanmar goes to China. It is also shipped to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam, the Republic of Korea, India, Japan, and other countries.

Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association aims to achieve rubber exports of 300,000 tonnes in the current 2023-2024 financial year beginning 1 April. Myanmar conveyed 99,660 tonnes of rubber worth $123.691 million as of 1 December in the current financial year 2023-2024 beginning 1 April. 

The rubber production in the last FY 2022-2023 reached over 360,000 tonnes and more than 200,000 tonnes of rubber were shipped to foreign trade partners. Rubber is commonly produced in Mon and Kayin states and Taninthayi, Bago, and Yangon regions in Myanmar. As per 2018-2019 rubber season 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.

Myanmar bagged more than US$449 million in revenue in rubber exports in the 2020-2021 FY. — NN/EM