KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) output stood at 70,843 tonnes in October 2015, up 3.8 per cent or 2,583 tonnes, from September, the Department of Statistics said yesterday.
Compared with October 2014, the production was up 47.4 per cent or 22,791 tonnes, it said in its monthly production statistics for October 2015.
The smallholdings sector contributed 91.8 per cent of total production while the estate sector produced the remaining 8.2 per cent.
Exports totalled 55,398 tonnes, a reduction of 9.5 per cent, compared with September 2015 but it was up 1.3 per cent with the same month last year.
Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) made up the bulk of the exports, accounting for 94.3 per cent.
In the month under review, NR was mainly exported to China (51.1 per cent), followed by Germany (12.1 per cent), Iran (5.9 per cent), Brazil (2.8 per cent), Korea (2.6 per cent), France (2.2 per cent), Turkey (2.2 per cent) and Taiwan (two per cent).
In October 2015, imports of NR stood at 83,925 tonnes, up 3.8 per cent when compared with September 2015 and was 9.2 per cent higher when compared with the corresponding month in 2014.
The main type of NR imported was latex concentrate (32 per cent) and standard rubber (30.8 per cent).
They were mainly imported from Thailand (56.1 per cent) and Vietnam (21.3 per cent).
Domestic consumption of NR in October 2015 was recorded at 41,790 tonnes, an increase of 3,112 tonnes or eight per cent when compared with September 2015, while year-on-year comparison also showed an increase of 4,561 tonnes or 12.3 per cent.
The major NR consuming industries in the month was the rubber gloves industry at 30,743 tonnes (73.6 per cent), tyre and tubes (8.3 per cent) and rubber thread (7.3 per cent).
These three industries consumed 37,277 tonnes (89.2 per cent) of the total domestic consumption of NR in October, said the department.
Stocks of NR held at the end of October 2015 rose 7.4 per cent to 147,318 tonnes from September and this was 11.3 per cent better that the stock level in the corresponding month last year.
The biggest portion amounting to 87.7 per cent of the stocks were held by rubber processors, said the department. — Bernama
