North Sumatra rubber exports fall in February by 19 percent

Medan, Indonesia – The value of North Sumatra’s rubber and rubber goods exports fell by 19.79 percent to US$221.001million as of February 2022 due to a decline in sales.

“In the same period in 2021, the export value of rubber and rubber goods from North Sumatra had reached US$275.514 million, while in 2022, the figure has only reached US$221.001 million,” head of the North Sumatra’s Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Nurul Hasanuddin, said here on Friday.

The decline in exports was seen in February, with the selling value falling to US$106.702 million compared to US$114.300 million in January.

“The decline in export value has caused rubber and rubber goods to drop to the third position from the second position so far,” he said.

Hasanuddin explained that the decline in the value of rubber exports tended to be caused by a decrease in export volume.

Due to the decline in rubber exports, the contribution of rubber and rubber goods to North Sumatra’s total exports during the same period also fell to only 12 percent.

Executive secretary of the Association of Indonesian Rubber Companies (Gapkindo) of North Sumatra, Edy Irwansyah, confirmed that there was a decline in rubber exports from North Sumatra, including a decline in the selling price of rubber in the international market.

The decline in exports, he said, was due to lower production and shipping disruptions on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Export volumes have fallen since January and shipments in February fell again by 11.99 percent to 28,698 tons due to weak demand from Russia.

“Besides the volume, export prices have also weakened,” he said.

The export price on April 7, 2022, was US$1.75 per kilogram from US$1.79 per kg earlier, he added.