A hydrophobic, water-redispersible polymer powder composition contains a) a main polymer having a1) more than 60 parts by weight of vinyl laurate monomer units a2) 5 to 30 parts by weight of vinyl acetate monomer units, a3) 5 to 30 parts by weight of ethylene monomer units, a4) 0 to 10 parts by weight of other ancillary monomer units, where the parts by weight total 100 parts by weight, b) 0.5 to 30% by weight of one or more protective colloids, c) 0 to 30% by weight of antiblocking agent, d) 0 to 20% by weight of organosilicon compound, and e) 0 to 20% by weight of fatty acid or derivatives of the fatty acids, where the % s by weight are based on the total weight of the polymer a).