In recent years, Vietnam’s growing rubber imports have significantly contributed to the country’s natural rubber export volume and supported the rapid expansion of its rubber product manufacturing industry.
Natural rubber (NR) — derived from rubber trees — and synthetic rubber (SR) — produced from petroleum — are the two primary raw materials for the rubber product industry, which includes tires, gloves, technical accessories, shoe soles, conveyor belts, mattresses, and elastic threads.
Globally, rubber consumption rose steadily from 2015 to 2018, but declined in 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected the tire manufacturing sector as transportation and logistics slowed down.
Despite the decline in global demand, Vietnam’s natural rubber exports increased between 2015 and 2020, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 9%. Of this, domestic rubber output grew by 3.9% annually(accounting for over 70%), while imported rubber expanded by 39.2% annually, contributing nearly 30%.
In 2020, Vietnam imported approximately 632,000 tons of natural rubber, double that of 2019. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years as rubber plantations invested by Vietnamese enterprises in Cambodia and Laos reach full harvesting capacity.
Alongside natural rubber, Vietnam has also been importing synthetic rubber, as the domestic petrochemical industryhas yet to develop large-scale SR production. Imports of synthetic rubber increased by 12.7% per year (CAGR) from 2015 to 2020. In 2020 alone, Vietnam imported around 403,700 tons, up 8.8% from 2019 — reflecting the rapid growth of Vietnam’s rubber processing and manufacturing industries.
From 2015 to 2019, Vietnam’s synthetic rubber imports exceeded natural rubber imports. However, in 2020, the trend reversed — and is expected to continue — as Vietnam expanded temporary imports and re-exports of natural rubber from Cambodia and Laos. This has increased the country’s natural rubber export capacity, demonstrating the tangible outcomes of its overseas investment projects.
According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), Vietnam’s natural rubber imports rose steadily from 2015 to 2020, particularly from Cambodia and Laos, which saw sharp growth in 2019–2020.
Meanwhile, synthetic rubber imports primarily came from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China — all major petrochemical producers. Notably, several of the top 10 suppliers of synthetic rubber, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, also export natural rubber to Vietnam — combining both plantation and petrochemical advantages.
During the first half of 2021, Vietnam imported an estimated 618,700 tons of natural rubber, three times higher than the same period in 2019, largely from Cambodia, where Vietnamese-owned plantations are now in full harvest. This import flow has supported Vietnam’s natural rubber export growth during the same period.
Vietnam’s rubber import trend is expected to remain upward in the near term. Imported natural rubber will continue to strengthen export capacity, while imported synthetic rubber will supply the domestic rubber manufacturing sector, helping enhance value-added production and the overall competitiveness of Vietnam’s rubber industry.