Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) output in March slipped 7.5 per cent to 70,304 tonnes but was 4.3 per cent higher when compared with the same month last year, said the Statistics Department.
End-March stocks stood at 176,166 tonnes, down 8.4 per cent, from end-February stocks but was higher than March 2012’s inventories of 33,506 tonnes.
Smallholders accounted for 92.9 per cent of the natural rubber produced in March while the remaining 7.1 per cent came from estates, said the Statistics Department in a statement today.
The highest producer of natural rubber on estates were Negeri Sembilan (20.0 per cent), Kedah (17.9 per cent) and Pahang (16.8 per cent).
Natural rubber exports amounted to 73,805 tonnes, up 20 per cent, over February, but rose 5.5 per cent when compared with March 2012, it said.
It also said natural rubber were mainly exported to China (45.8 per cent), followed by Germany (13.6 per cent), Korea (3.5 per cent), the US (3.4 per cent), Iran (3.3 per cent), Turkey (2.8 per cent), Finland (2.6 per cent) and Brazil (2.1 per cent).
Imports in March 2013 fell two per cent to 74,174 tonnes but increased 14.4 per cent when compared with imports in March last year,” the department said.
Thailand and Vietnam were the main suppliers of natural rubber and both countries accounted for 67.8 per cent of total natural rubber imports.
The rubber gloves industry consumed the highest amount of natural rubber at 25,899 tonnes, followed by rubber thread and, tyres & tubes.
“These three industries consumed more than half of the overall domestic consumption in the country with a total of 32,317 tonnes (86.6 per cent),” it said.– Bernama
