May 24,2022
THE price of rubber was stabilized at K1,300 per pound, according to the rubber growers.
The price dropped to almost K1,200 per pound in April and K1,000 in May.
From 16 to 20 May, a pound of RSS-3 type of rubber was about K1,300 and a pound of the RSS-5 type was about K1,200, according to a rubber plantation owner U Okkar.
He said, “At a time when prices of inputs such as fertilizers and other related products are high, we have to keep the loss rather than the profit. Prices may fall as a result of the temporary closure of foreign trade.”
In the first week of May, the price of a pound of rubber fell by K200-K300 in the local market, reducing the profits of rubber growers. By the time the rubber plantation opened last year, the price of a pound of rubber had been around K750 and this year’s opening price is around K1,100. Despite low profits, prices are still high in Taninthayi Region, said U Bo Htay, an owner of a rubber plantation.
“With the storm and non-stop rain, we can no longer collect rubber latex; We have to focus on planting seedlings and conserving the plantation,” he added.
There are more than 1.6 million acres of rubber plantations in the country, and the yield of rubber is increasing year by year. Myanmar rubber is mostly shipped to foreign countries, and in recent years, more than 300,000 tonnes of rubber were exported. China is the main buyer of about 75 per cent of Myanmar rubber, and it is also exported to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, India, and Japan. — TWA/ GNLM
