Malaysian natural rubber exports up 3.2 percent in January

ERJ staff report (TP)

Kuala Lumpur – Natural rubber exports in January 2014 increased 3.2 percent to 70,423 tonnes from the same period in 2013, the Malaysian Statistics Department said on 12 March, reported The Star.

Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) contributed 94.2 percent of the total exports, with 55 percent of that comprising SMR 20.

Natural rubber was exported mainly to China (49 percent), followed by Germany (14 percent), the United States (6.9 percent), Brazil (3.4 percent), Iran (2.7 percent), South Africa (2.4 percent), Portugal (2.1 percent) and South Korea (2.1 percent).

However, compared with December last year, natural rubber exports declined by 15.5 percent.

Production for the month under review totalled 91,567 tonnes, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, with the smallholding sector contributing 93.6 percent whilst the estate sector accounting for 6.4 percent.

"Kedah [state] produced the highest natural rubber in estates, accounting for 21.8 percent, followed by Negeri Sembilan (20.2 percent) and Johor (15.2 percent)," the department said.

Total natural rubber for domestic consumption in January 2014 was recorded at 35,338 tonnes, down 6.2 percent year-on-year, with the rubber gloves industry being the highest consuming industry at 25,492 tonnes (72.1 percent), followed by tires and tubes (7.1 percent) and rubber thread (6.6 percent).

The country's natural rubber stocks stood at 221,856 tonnes as at January 2014, a 32.1 percent increase from December 2013 and 17.5 percent higher compared with January 2013.

The average monthly price of latex concentrate was 485.30 sen (€1.06), a 9.4 percent fall from December 2013 and also a 21 percent drop from the same month in 2013.

Production productivity for the month under review was recorded at 142 kg per hectare, up by 8.6 percent from the previous month but a 4 percent decrease year-on-year.

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Full story from The Star