Exports of rubber to China via the border are at a standstill as China has tightened policies on inspecting rubber imports via cross-border trade.
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| Workers fulfill export orders on rubber production line for Company 175. |
Rubber exports to China via Luc Lam Border Gate in Quang Ninh Province have stalled since July, as Chinese traders began buying rubber only occasionally and then stopped totally, Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) newspaper has reported.
Le Van Xuong, head of the Binh Long Rubber Company\'s Representative Office in Quang Ninh Province, said that rubber trade among Vietnamese exporters and Chinese traders at Luc Lam Border Gate was still frozen.
Chinese customs inspection officers and police at the border post have not granted customs clearance licences, preventing Chinese traders from buying rubber from Vietnamese exporters, according to Xuong.
Tran Thi Thuy Hoa, general secretary of the Vietnam Rubber Association, said Vietnamese exporters were not surprised at China\'s policies of controlling rubber imports via cross-border trade because China often applies these policies to inspect businesses at border crossings.
The policies also aimed to reduce rubber export prices, which have increased strongly since early this year, Hoa said.
Rubber export prices to China fell from CNY 31,500 ($4,921) a tonne in mid-August to CNY29,000 the first week of this month.
In recent years, Vietnamese exporters have tried exporting rubber to China via official export channels.
But the export quantity via this channel did not improve because of high taxes, Hoa said.
Chinese importers had to pay a tax of 25 percent for official imports, but did not have to pay taxes for cross-border imports.
In addition, procedures for cross-border exports were simple and fast, so both sellers and buyers preferred this kind of export.
China accounts for 60-65 percent of Vietnam\'s rubber export quantity.
Vietnam exported a total of 449,000 tonnes of rubber worth $1.9 billion in the first eight months of the year, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association.
