Natural rubber output drops 23.3% in March

Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production in March 2020 declined 23.3% to 35,961 tonnes from 46,881 tonnes in February 2020.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO), as well as the prevailing wintering period, affected the NR production.

It said exports of Malaysia's NR amounted to 45,198 tonnes, down 12.8% compared with 51,852 tonnes in February 2020.

China was the primary destination for exported NR with a share of 41.8% of the total exports in March 2020, followed by Germany (9.3%), Iran (5.8%), the United States (5.7%), and Brazil (3.3%).

“The highest exports were for glove items with a value of RM1.78 billion, an increase of 11.9% compared to February 2020,” the DOSM said in its Monthly Rubber Statistics for March 2020

The DOSM said there was an increase in demand for condoms (21.7%) and tubes (19.3%) valued at RM28.6 million and RM0.8 million, respectively, in the same period.

It attributed the increase to the implementation of lockdown caused by Covid-19.

Meanwhile, stocks of NR continuously increased 1.4% from 296,328 tonnes in February 2020 to 300,448 tonnes in March.

The average price of latex concentrate declined to 435.66 sen per kilogramme (kg) from 456.73 sen per kg in February 2020, while the Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) dropped to 517.45 sen per kg from 549.68 sen per kg.

Total domestic consumption of NR was 42,244 tonnes, an increase of 1.8% from the previous month.

“The rubber gloves industry dominates the use of NR with a consumption of 34,086 tonnes or 80.7% of the total domestic consumption,” said the DOSM.