According to the data of the General Administration of Customs, in May 2010, China imported Natural rubber 140000 tons. From January to May 2010, China imported 630000 tons of natural rubber, up 13.1% year on year.

Natural rubber import price soared in the first quarter

According to the statistics of China Customs, in the first quarter of 2010, China imported 490000 tons of natural rubber, with an amount of US $1.31 billion, up 30.3% and 145.4% respectively compared with the same period last year, of which the average import price was as high as US $2600/ton, up more than US $1000/ton compared with the same period last year, and the growth rate of the amount was close to five times of the total growth rate.

Chang Yizhi, a chemical industry researcher of CIC Consulting, believes that the surge in China's natural rubber import prices in the first quarter of this year was mainly determined by domestic and foreign factors.

On the international side, Chang Yizhi pointed out that, first of all, the supply of natural rubber in the world is tight. According to the Investment Analysis and Prospects Forecast Report of China's Rubber Industry 2010-2015 released by CIC Consulting, at present, the world's natural rubber exports mainly rely on Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, whose rubber production accounts for more than 80% of the world's total natural rubber production. This year, due to the severe drought in these areas, the production of natural rubber has decreased, resulting in tight supply in the international market.

Secondly, the world's major users of natural rubber, such as the United States, Japan and other countries, do not produce natural rubber themselves. Their domestic demand for natural rubber is completely dependent on imports. Moreover, the domestic economic environment of these countries is gradually recovering, which will support the price of international natural rubber.

In addition, at the end of last year, China decided to reduce the import tariff of natural rubber in 2010, which means that it sends a signal of strong demand for domestic natural rubber to the international market, and some natural rubber suppliers will also rely on the opportunity to raise the price of natural rubber.

On the domestic side, Chang Yizhi pointed out that, on the one hand, due to the implementation of national preferential policies for the automobile industry, such as the implementation of policies such as the reduction and exemption of purchase tax for small displacement passenger cars, the introduction of cars to the countryside, and the improvement of the standard of subsidy amount for single car "old for new" cars, the production of cars in one quarter pin The demand for natural rubber has been boosted by a large increase in the volume. The self-sufficiency rate of natural rubber in China is almost less than 30%, which means that 70% of natural rubber depends on imports. Therefore, a large amount of natural rubber needs to be imported to meet the gap in the domestic market.

On the other hand, the production of natural rubber in China is mainly concentrated in Hainan and Yunnan. This year, due to the extremely arid climate in southwest China, the output of natural rubber has been affected, making the price of natural rubber on the market rise, which will also stimulate the import volume to increase significantly, thus raising the import price of natural rubber.