Rubber Prices – Historical Graph
Real-time chart of historical daily rubber prices. The prices are down in U.S. dollars per KG.
- The average price in the past 3 days is
- The average price in the past 7 days is
- The average price in the past 30 days is
- The average price in the past 365 days is
Popular questions about rubber prices:
Rubber Prices Explained
As you can see rubber prices are fluctuating. But why is that? And is there a way to predict the price of rubber?
Why are rubber prices fluctuating?
Rubber price volatility in the market is due to low levels of supply and demand however, there is more to the imbalanced equilibrium since other factors are behind this.
1. Weather Conditions
Most of the rubber producers in the world come from Asia where it’s frequently visited by typhoons and temperatures getting drier.
Recently, global warming decreased Hevea trees ( a tree that produces liquid sticky sap used in making rubber ) productivity since adequate rainfall is getting scarce and weather temperature is getting extreme.
This reduces rubber production and drives market price.
2. Production Inputs
The increasing cost of fuel, transportation, and labor adds to the worries of rubber producers. To maintain profitability, farmers put an additional value on their produce to keep up their productivity and livelihood.
3. Disease
The leaf fall disease that ravaged over 1 million rubber plantations in Thailand in 2021 left the country’s output dropped by 20%-50%.
This record-breaking decrease will highly influence other rubber-consuming industries until 2024.
4. Synthetic Rubber
Technology advancements lead to synthetic rubber production as a cheaper and more sustainable option than natural rubber.
Often, the availability and price of synthetic rubber decide the market price of natural rubber.
5. Lack of Government Subsidies
The government’s shift to industrial investment put the agriculture sector’s production low specifically in countries with emerging economies.
This short fund adds to the burden of farmers to keep up with the global demand.
Which variables impact the price of rubber?
- Supply and Demand
- Weather Conditions
- Government Policies
- Currency Exchange Rates
- Production Costs
- Competition from Synthetic Materials
Where does rubber come from?
Rubber comes from latex, a milky, sticky liquid from rubber-producing plants. According to experts, around 20,000 plant species produce latex but only 2,500 contains rubber in their latex. Hevea brasilensis is one famous plant with rubber in its latex.
The Mesoamerican people from Mexico and Central America first used liquid rubber for medicine, ritual, and painting. Native Haitians played football using balls made of rubber.
Christopher Columbus discovered rubber during his explorations in the Americas.
In 1839, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process to harden rubber while retaining its elasticity. This started further innovations in rubber and it’s used in multiple industries.
When is the rubber season?
The rubber season or commonly called ”tapping season” is about tapping rubber-producing trees for their sap. It depends on the country’s region and climate.
In tropical countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria the tapping season occurs in two seasons:
Dry Season
Typically, this first season occurs from November to February ( Southeast Asia ) and from March to June ( West Africa ). During this harvest period, rubber trees produce less but high-quality latex.
Rainy Season
This second harvest season generally happens from July to October ( Southeast Asia ) and from June to October ( West Africa ). During the rainy season, rubber-producing trees secrete more but low-quality latex due to rain dilution.
The top rubber producers in the world are Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China, and Ivory Coast.