Cambodia recorded a 17 percent rise in rubber latex exports in 2012; however, the revenues from the exports went down by 21 percent due to declining rubber prices in the international market, the government's statistics showed Friday.

The country had exported 54,530 tons of rubber latex last year, up 17 percent from 46,730 tons in a year earlier, said the statistics from Camcontrol, or the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General, which regulates imports and exports in the Kingdom.

The nation earned total revenues of $158 million from the exports last year, down 21 percent from $201 million in a year earlier.

The best quality rubber latex is sold at about $3,310 a ton on Friday, down 9 percent compared to $3,648 a ton at this time last year, according to the International Rubber Price List.

Cambodia's rubber latex has been exported to Malaysia, Vietnam, and China.

Rubber was among the top priority crops for Cambodia; it is expected to be the second leading income earner after rice paddy in the future.

To date, the country has 257,670 hectares of rubber plantations, most of them are young crops, which have not yet yielded, according to the statistics of the Agriculture Ministry's Rubber Department.

The ministry foresees that Cambodia could produce about 300,000 tons of rubber latex in 2020.