DOSM: Malaysia’s natural rubber production up 9.7% in August against July

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production increased by 9.7 per cent to 31,309 tonnes in August from 28,533 tonnes in July, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

However, NR production fell 16.9 per cent year-on-year compared to 37,666 tonnes in August 2022.

Production of NR in August 2023 for Malaysia was mainly contributed by the smallholders sector (83.3 per cent) compared to the estates sector (16.7 per cent).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the total stocks of NR in August 2023 decreased by 0.8 per cent to 142,620 tonnes compared to 143,757 tonnes in July 2023.

“Rubber processors contributed 88.1 per cent of the stocks followed by rubber consumers factory (11.7 per cent) and rubber estates (0.2 per cent),” Mohd Uzir said in a statement today.

NR exports amounted to 57,488 tonnes in August 2023, an increase of 11.0 per cent against July 2023 (51,784 tonnes), contributed by NR-based products such as gloves, tyres, tubes, rubber thread,s and condoms.

Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products with a value of RM1.0 billion in August 2023, an increase of 9.4 per cent compared to July’s RM0.96 billion.

China remained the main destination for NR exports, accounting for 47.9 per cent of total exports in August 2023, followed by Germany (8.7 per cent), Iran (4.0 per cent), the United States (2.9 per cent), and Pakistan (2.7 per cent).

DOSM said that an analysis of the average monthly price showed that concentrated latex recorded a 3.9 per cent month-on-month decline to 471.09 sen per kilogramme (kg) in August from 490.18 sen per kg in July.

Scrap rubber dropped by 1.9 per cent to 462.05 sen per kg from 471.14 sen per kg.

“Prices for all Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) decreased between 0.7 and 3.9 per cent,” DOSM said.

According to the August 2023 issue of the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest, the daily price of SMR 20 in the Kuala Lumpur rubber market moved in an upward momentum at the end of August as compared with July.

This scenario was supported by gains in crude oil prices and China’s economic stimulus measures.- BK