Export prices of Vietnamese rubber to China have surged by 985 U.S. dollars per ton since the beginning of this year, mainly due to increasing demand of Chinese enterprises.

Now, the prices are 100-300 dollars per ton higher than those of local rubber exported to other markets, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association on Friday.

Rubber exported to China via Vietnam's northern Mong Cai border gate, on average, was priced at 2,700 dollars per ton on Thursday, and to Malaysia at 2,460 dollars, the association noted.

Vietnam shipped abroad 221,000 tons of rubber worth 376 million dollars, mainly to China, the United States, France, Japan and South Korea, in the first five months of this year, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

Vietnam, the world's fourth biggest natural rubber exporter, plans to increase its rubber tree acreage to 700,000 hectares by 2010 from 500,000 hectares in 2005, and build more rubber processing plants in the coming years.

Source: Xinhua