Thailand Outpaced by Germany in Exports of Unvulcanized Rubber

Germany held off a hard charging Thailand in the global unvulcanized rubber trade. In 2014, Germany exported 512.5 kt of unvulcanized rubber totaling $2,263M, 0.3% under the previous year. Its primary trading partner was France, where it supplied 12.9% of its total unvulcanized rubber exports in value terms, accounting for 46.8% of total French imports.

From 2007 to 2014, Germany was a net exporter of unvulcanized rubber. Over the period under review, exports consistently exceeded imports in value terms. However, in physical terms, the difference was less pronounced due to high import prices.

Germany's top 5 trading partners in 2014 were France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, with a combined share 42.7% of German exports. The share of France increased (+2 percentage points), while the share of Spain illustrated negative dynamics (-1 percentage points).

Thailand and the U.S. were among the other main global suppliers of unvulcanized rubber in 2014. Thailand was the fastest growing exporter from 2007 to 2014 (+19% per year), followed by China (+14% per year). With this, Thailand was able to significantly strengthen its position in the global export structure.

Source: World: Unvulcanized Rubber - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2020