KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production increased 5.4 percent to 54,992 tonnes in December 2018 from 52,174 tonnes in the previous month, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
In a statement yesterday, DoSM said the NR production in December, however, dropped 18.0 percent on a year-on-year basis.
It said the NR stockpile in December gained 2.3 percent to 173,848 tonnes from 169,939 tonnes in November.
DoSM said the average price of latex concentrate was recorded at 377 sen per kilogramme (kg), declining by one percent, whereas, the average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increased 1.7 percent to 518.18 sen per kg.
NR exports shrank by nine percent month-on-month to 48,183 tonnes in December.
According to the DoSM, China was the main destination, accounting for 46.5 percent of the total exports.
“This was followed by Germany (14.8 percent), Finland and the United States (4.6 percent) respectively, and Iran (3.1 percent),” it added.
The domestic consumption of NR in December declined 2.7 percent to 41,823 tonnes against 42,971 tonnes in November.
The rubber glove industry was the main consumer at 76.2 percent (or 31,886 tonnes) of the total NR for domestic consumption. – Bernama
