Forecast Predicts Chinese Rubber Growth

A forecast by the China Minmetals & Chemicals Import and Export Chamber of Commerce says that demand from the tyre industry will be the major factor in a rise in the price of rubber and growth in the Chinese Rubber Industry in 2005.

The prediction was made at the 97th China Export Commodities Fair in Guangzhou, where export orders for tyres worth $16.77 million were placed in the first two days of the fair. The chamber of commerce said that production of automobiles in China would reach five million units and tyre output for the year would top 160 million units.

Increased demand for rubber, coupled with reduced output from Thailand and Indonesia, will lead to a shortfall of rubber and rising prices, said the report.