Cambodia exported rubber and articles thereof to the tune of $149.80 million in the first four months of 2022, representing an increase of 16.5 per cent year-on-year from $128.58 million, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).

These accounted for nearly 1.97 per cent of the Kingdom’s total exports over the January-April period, worth $7.6063 billion.

Last month alone, exports of rubber and rubber products amounted to $32.11 million, rising by 73.5 per cent year-on-year versus $18.5 million in April 2021, GDCE figures show.

Him Aun, head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ General Directorate of Rubber, told The Post on May 12 that the rubber export market showed “considerable positive signs” over the four months ended April 30.

In January-April, exports of rubber latex and wood alone weighed in at 79,358 tonnes, up by 2,223 tonnes or 2.88 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, he said.

He credited the uptick in exports to elevated international market demand, improved global economic growth as the Covid-19 crisis recedes, favourable weather and good harvest conditions, and an on-year increase in the number of mature trees that can be tapped for rubber.

However, the average per-tonne latex price bucked the wider upswing, dipping by $61 or nearly four per cent year-on-year to $1,605 in the first four months of this year, Aun noted.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng, meanwhile, was not as impressed with these exports results. He said that rubber cultivation has made “no significant progress” in recent years, hampered by a range of price and other market issues.

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Author: Hin Pisei

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Publication date: 12 May 2022