Vietnamese rubber delegation in Sri Lanka on Friday

By Cheranka Mendis
A 10-member rubber delegation from Vietnam will arrive in Sri Lanka on Friday, after a two-day visit in India, in an attempt to strengthen relationships and exchange knowledge on the industry.
The delegation is from the Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA) and includes VRA Chairman and Vietnam Rubber Group Chairman Tran Ngoc Thuan, VRA Secretary General Vo Hoang An, Rubber Research Institute of Vietnam Director Lai Van Lam, senior staff members of the Vietnam Rubber Association and Director Generals of several rubber related companies.
In a letter addressed to the Colombo Rubber Traders Association Chairman M.S. Rahim, the VRA has noted that the key objectives were “to strengthen relationships and expand cooperation in Sri Lanka and natural rubber market information exchange, study activities and organisational structure of the Association, and the management of natural rubber exports of the Sri Lankan rubber industry.”
Today (17), the delegation will meet with the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) to discuss its activities and rubber market information in Mumbai and will fly to Kottayam, Kochi to meet the Indian Rubber Board to gain knowledge about the management of natural rubber quality and exports of the Indian rubber industry. They are also scheduled to visit a rubber plantation and rubber processing factory in Kochi.
In Sri Lanka, the delegation will meet the Colombo Rubber Traders Association on Friday morning for discussions, after which they will meet with the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka to discuss the management of natural rubber quality in the Sri Lankan rubber industry. A plantation and processing factory visit has also been planned.
Rahim noted that like Sri Lanka, Vietnam is a rubber producing country, however, with cheaper prices. There are several Sri Lankan companies trading in Vietnam he said, adding that certain manufacturers are known to even import rubber from Vietnam, which is cheaper than purchasing domestically. Vietnam has also entered markets that were previously held by Sri Lankan rubber companies such as Pakistan.
Vietnam’s rubber exports experienced a sharp fall in the first half of 2013, plunging by 19.2% in value and 5% in volume against the same period last year, the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade reported. Until end-June, the country received US$ 976 million from exporting over 380,000 tons of rubber as a price slump took its toll on earnings. In June alone, 79,000 tonnes of rubber were shipped abroad from Vietnam, bringing in revenue of US$ 188 million. The average rubber export price was US$ 2.595 per ton, 15.2% lower from the rate last year.