Vietnam’s rubber exports to South Korea account for a total market value of $18,92 million, ranking fourth after Thailand, Indonesia, and China as the top exporters.
Recent statistics from the General Department of Customs indicate that, as of the first quarter of 2023, Vietnamese rubber exports to South Korea totaled 12,470 tonnes at a market value of $18.92 million. This marks an uptick of 5.6 % in volume but a downtick of 15% in value year-on-year.
Vietnam’s natural rubber is the primary product exported to South Korea. Particularly, SVR 10 accounted for the largest portion of the total exported rubber, 28.05%, followed by SVR CV60 and SVR 3L with 24.53% and 14.44%, respectively.
The drop in value is attributed to the sharp decrease in the average export price of all rubber types over the same period in 2022.
Thailand, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines are the top five rubber suppliers to South Korea, with Vietnam ranking fourth.
However, the Vietnamese rubber market share is shrinking here, while the market shares of Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Singapore tending to increase over the same period in 2022.
In the South Korean market, Vietnam’s rubber has to compete with Thai and Indonesian rubber.
Therefore, the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends Vietnamese businesses diversify their products to meet the requirements of the market.
The ministry will continue to work and optimise the efficacy of the structures for bilateral cooperation to complete specific goals, such as putting together an action plan to achieve the bilateral trade target of $100 billion in 2023.
Vietnamese companies also need to encourage technology transfer, raise the standard of human resources, and improve trade and investment in the textile, automotive, mechanical, and electronic industries.