Jan 13 Global natural rubber output is likely to fall in the first quarter of 2017 as floods have disrupted tapping in top producer Thailand, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) said.
Output for the period is expected to fall 0.8 percent from a year-ago level to 2.44 million tonnes.
However, annual production from the ANRPC members, which together account for about 92 percent of global output, could rise 4 percent to 11.2 million tonnes in 2017, after stagnating over the past three years, the association said in a statement on Friday.
“Due to floods, Thailand will be able to produce only 4.381 million tonnes of natural rubber during 2017 as against 4.741 million tonnes originally expected,” the association said.
Southern Thailand has suffered downpours since Jan. 1, resulting in flash floods that have killed 36 people. Global rubber prices JRUc6 have spiked on concerns about the impact on output. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
