Natural rubber output up 5% in December

Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production rose 5.2% to 69,727 tonnes in December 2016 from 66,293 tonnes in November, said the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The DoS, in a statement yesterday, said the smallholding sector was the main contributor to the NR production, accounting for 92.9%.

It said the average monthly price of latex concentrate increased 77.43 sen per kilogramme (kg) to 615.88 sen per kg from the previous month.

Meanwhile, Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 rose 127.39 sen per kg to 839.55 sen per kg, it said.

Malaysia’s NR exports grew 12.4% to 61,380 tonnes in December compared with November.

The five main destinations of the NR exports were China at 51.1%, followed by Germany (13.5%), Iran (7.1%), the US (3.3%) and Finland (2.8%).

Domestic consumption of NR eased 0.9% to 40,838 tonnes within the same period, while the rubber gloves industry remained the main NR domestic consumer at 74.9%.

The DoS said the level of NR stocks at end-December increased 10.4% to 203,451 tonnes from 184,265 tonnes in November.