KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber production in March 2019 declined 16.2 percent to 49,465 tonnes compared with 59,017 tonnes in February 2019, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
In a statement, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the production of natural rubber gained 6.6 percent compared to that of March 2018. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s natural rubber exports for March 2019 increased 29.6 percent to 53,265 tonnes compared with February 2019, with China being the main destination of exported natural rubber, representing 43.2 percent of the total natural rubber exports.
“The average price of latex concentrate in March 2019 was 474.19 sen per kilogramme (kg) compared with 410.50 sen per kg in the previous month, while the average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 rose to 592.62 sen per kg against 558.09 sen per kg in February 2019,” he said.
The department also reported that domestic consumption of natural rubber in March 2019 was 43,770 tonnes and the rubber glove manufacturing industry is the main consumer with total consumption of 32,848 tonnes or 75 percent of the total domestic consumption. –Bernama
