Vietnam exported 383,000 tonnes of rubber worth US$976 million in the first half of 2013, down 5.0 percent in volume and 19.2 percent in value against the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). The MoIT said that the country exported 79,000 tonnes of rubber in June at an average price of US$2.595 per tonne, 15.2 percent lower than last year’s price. Although China is Vietnam’s rubber importer (accounting for 46 percent of the total volume), there has been a sharp drop in recent months (down 21.6 percent in volume and 30.7 percent in value respectively). Malaysia remains Vietnam’s second largest rubber importer with an increase of 10.6 percent in volume but a fall of 11.5 percent in value in the first five months of this year. It is forecast that the price of rubber is likely to fall further as exports from Thailand – the world’s leading rubber supplier- will pick up in the coming months. VOV