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Rubber sector makes plans to bounce over economic crisis
The rubber sector will expand plantations in a seven-year strategy to sustain the industry against the impact of the global economic downturn.
The sector aims to increase the planting area by 100,000-700,000ha in the next four years and will plant another 150,000ha more by 2015.
The strategy was released on Tuesday at a Ministry of Industry and Commerce workshop titled "Stable Development for Viet Nam’s Rubber during Global Economic Integration." The workshop was run in co-operation with the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy in Ha Noi.
The world economic turbulence has badly affected the global rubber industry. The local price per tonne has dropped up to 50 per cent in the last few months, from US$2,645 to about $1300 a tonne. It is expected to drop even further next year before stabilising.
Rubber exports, which are greatly influenced by world oil prices, make up 85 per cent of the total produced. The remaining 15 per cent is used in local industry.
Under the new strategy, the first priority for the sector is to plant more trees. This will include replacing old and low-capacity trees with new, higher-producing strains, according to the head of the agricultural ministry’s Cultivation Department, Nguyen Tri Ngoc.
"It takes about six years to start harvesting from rubber trees and by that time the price market will be stabilised," said Ngoc.
Advanced techniques for planting and exploitation will be used to maximise production by only using trees for 20 years instead of harvesting them for another five years when their production of latex is lower. A detailed scheme will also be worked out to select land for planting.
Training the key
Training the work force is a key factor in the strategy. Managers and senior officers will be sent abroad for intensive training according to their specialisation. Many intensive local courses will be opened to train more staff for areas being developed.
The education levels and skills of workers, especially those from ethnic minorities, will also be improved through workshops and training courses.
Rubber companies in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) will give preference to ethnic workers and those from villages next to plantation areas.
Rubber cultivation in recent years has boosted local economic development and improved infrastructure in many areas, creating full-time jobs for up to 270,000 people. It has also greened 55ha of bare hills and uncultivated land.
Positive facts
Rubber is beneficial for the economy. One ha of rubber plantation produces 30 tonnes of raw rubber in its full life time. This is valued at about VND4.3 million per ha.
There are about 600,000ha of land under rubber plantation throughout Viet Nam, providing a total 644,000 tonnes a year. This makes Viet Nam the fifth largest rubber producer with 5.4 per cent of the world’s output.
This year’s exports are likely to reach 780,000 tonnes for an estimated US$1.6 billion turnover – or 2.9 per cent of the nation’s total export value.
The volume of rubber exported to China is about 68 per cent of that produced. Turnover from this neighbourly trade last year was $816.7 million from 415,700 tonnes.
VNS
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