Rubber prices have been falling in the Mon State due to low quality, the Mon State Rubber Planters and Producers Association’s chair Nai Kyan Yit told Hinthar Media.
"Rubber from the Mon State are currently not in a seller’s market, but a buyer’s market. The seller has to sell the rubber based on how much he or she is given,” he explained.
The current rubber prices are Ks 700 per pound for best quality RSS-3, Ks 600 per pound for Myanmar RSS-3, and Ks 700 per pound for CSO. Rubber prices were between Ks 900-1,000 per pound last year.
Nai Kyan Yit said most of the rubbers produced in the Mon State are being exported to China, but the prices are falling due to low quality and some rubber wholesale centers have signed contracts with Japanese companies.
Mi Aye Kyi, a rubber plantation owner from Ye Township, said she is doing her best to produce good rubber even though she lacks investment for producing good quality rubber.
“We keep our ears to the ground to find out when rubber prices will rise. We don’t receive a good price if the quality is low so we are paying attention not to have dust [in the rubber]. We always try to keep it clean. We don’t have manpower and money,” she said.
The Mon State has over 500,000 acres of rubber plantations and over 100,000 acres of rubber plantations that have been halted. The state produces 106,000 tons of rubber per year, according to statistics from the Mon State Rubber Planters and Producers Association.
