Slow global recovery chips away at rubber prices - ANRPC
ERJ staff report (DS)
Kuala Lumpur - Sluggish global growth is leading to declines in the price of rubber, said The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) in the April 2012 edition of Natural Rubber Trends & Statistics, published today.
In his forward to the report, Dato' Dr.Kamarul Baharain Basir, secretary-general of the organisation, which represents 93 percent of all rubber grown in the world, said, “In spite of the low supply, rubber prices have taken a marginal down from mid-March onwards caused by a sluggish demand outlook, decline in crude oil prices and unfavourable trends of relevant currencies. Global economic recovery is losing its momentum after it showed signs of an improvement during the early part of the first quarter.â€
The report says, “Total supply from ANRPC's members fell 9.5 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with a year earlier, according to actual figures for January and preliminary estimates for February and March. The steeper fall, against a 5.1 percent fall anticipated a month ago, was contributed to a large part by Thailand and Malaysia. â€
It continues, “The supply during the quarter fell 24.5 percent in Thailand and 9.4 percent in Malaysia reflecting farmers' response to decline in prices. Prices of STR 20 (Bangkok) fell more than 30 percent on year and averaged at 374 $/100 kg during the first quarter of this year. The average price realised during the same quarter in the year before was 535 $/100 kg. Smallholders who dominate the commodity's global supply, tend to reduce frequency of harvesting and application of inputs whenever prices turn less attractive.
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Press release from ANRPC
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