Malaysia reports strong growth in rubber product exports

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s rubber products exports have seen a significant jump in first three quarters of 2021, despite uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exports of rubber and rubber products increased 70.7% year-on-year to RM37 billion (€7.8 billion) over the first nine months of the year, said a report by the Malaysian Rubber Council 22 Dec.

As large deployment of vaccination ramped up demand for medical gloves globally, latex goods sector posted a strong 86% growth to RM51.4 billion, contributing nearly 93% of overall rubber products exports.

Rubber gloves maintained “the highest earner” position with export revenue of almost RM50 billion, an increase of almost 91% from the previous year. 

Medical gloves made up 40.1% of the latex goods sector, with export value reaching RM22.2 billion. 

The US remained the largest market for Malaysian rubber products with a total value of RM20.8 billion, posting an increase of 118.9% compared to the first nine months of 2020. 

Other key markets also recorded significant increases, including Canada which posted a 126.3% jump. Germany, The Netherlands, Japan and Brazil also saw increases of 99%, 93.7%, 72% and 67.3% respectively.

Furthermore, dry rubber products sector saw positive growth as the tire industry picked up. Over the first nine months of 2021, tire exports grew 28.1% year-on-year to RM1.4 billion. 

The US remained the leading importer of tires posting an increase of 45.5% to RM0.6 billion in imports.