International Business News – Alongkorn Ponlaboot, advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, said recently that in the first half of this year, Thailand became the world’s largest exporter of rubber, with rubber exports reaching 2.19 million tons, earning 70.5 billion baht (about 2 billion US dollars).
Alongkorn Ponlaboot also quoted data from the Rubber Authority of Thailand as saying that the country’s natural rubber exports are expected to reach 4.27 million tons this year, a year-on-year increase of 3.41%.
In the first half of this year, Thailand’s exports of natural rubber and rubber products reached 167.2 billion baht. China is Thailand’s largest export market for rubber and rubber products, accounting for nearly half (49%) of merchandise exports.
In the first six months of this year, China has imported 1.42 million tons of rubber and synthetic rubber from Thailand, a year-on-year increase of 5.37%. Malaysia is Thailand’s second exporter of rubber, followed by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
The Rubber Authority of Thailand predicts that the country’s rubber output will reach 4.79 million tons this year, a year-on-year increase of 0.88%.