Malaysia's April 2018 NR output drops 22.7pct to 35,845 tonnes

The three countries will also push ahead with greater domestic consumption of the commodity, according to the Bangkok-based International Rubber Consortium Ltd (IRCo).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's natural rubber (NR) production declined by 22.7 per cent to 35,845 tonnes in April 2018 from 46,381 tonnes in March, said the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The production also decreased by 27.1 per cent year-on-year, it said in a statement today.
Month-on-month (m-o-m), the average price of latex concentrate fell 5.5 per cent to 445.48 sen per kg in April compared with March, and the average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) also declined by 4.6 per cent m-o-m to 528.90 sen per kg.

NR exports decreased by 7.7 per cent m-o-m to 53,203 tonnes, with China, Germany, Iran, Turkey and Finland being the top five export destinations.

Domestic consumption of NR also fell by 4.8 per cent m-o-m to 43,527 tonnes.

“The NR is widely used in the rubber glove industry, totalling 32,893 tonnes or 75.6 per cent of the total natural rubber domestic consumption,” the DoS said.

It said NR stocks also decreased 9.8 per cent m-o-m to 254,081 tonnes from 281,741 tonnes previously. - Bernama