Kuala Lumpur: Natural rubber production fell 2.0 per cent in January 2018 to 65,792 tonnes from 67,101 tonnes produced in the previous month, said the Department of Statistics on Wednesday.
Stocks rose 10.5 per cent to 254,525 tonnes at the end of January compared to 230,300 tonnes in the preceding month.
The smallholdings sector accounted for more than 92.9 per cent of the rubber produced in January, said the department in a statement today.
Exports in the month under review decreased 9.7 per cent to 46,928 tonnes and the five main destinations for Malaysia’s natural rubber were China, Germany, Iran, Vietnam and Brazil.
Meanwhile, domestic consumption of natural rubber increased 1.6 per cent to 44,302 tonnes in January versus 43,617 tonnes consumed in the previous month.
In terms of rubber usage, the rubber glove industry accounted for 74.2 per cent followed by rubber threads (9.4 per cent), tyres and tubes (6.4 per cent) and others (10.0 per cent). – Bernama
