KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production for April declined 30.1 per cent to 42,881 tonnes when compared with the same month last year and was 39 per cent lower than March’s output.
The Statistics Department said the smallholdings sector accounted for 93.6 per cent of production while estates made up the remaining 6.4 per cent.
The highest producer of NR on estates was Kedah (22.8 per cent), followed by Perak (18.8 per cent) and Negeri Sembilan (15.3 per cent).
End-April stocks stood at 142,069 tonnes, up 20.8 per cent, compared with the same month last year but was 19.3 per cent lower from end-March inventories.
The department said April’s export of NR decreased 6.7 per cent to 61,342 tonnes compared with the corresponding month last year and was 16.8 per cent lower from the previous month.
Malaysia exported natural rubber mainly to China (40.8 per cent), Germany (12.5 per cent), Iran (6.9 per cent), Korea (4.1 per cent), Finland (3.6 per cent), the United States (2.8 per cent), Brazil (2.6 per cent) and South Africa (2.4 per cent).
Meanwhile, the department said imports in April fell 9.2 per cent, year-on-year, to 55,602 tonnes and dipped 24.6 per cent when compared with a month earlier.
Thailand and Vietnam were the main suppliers of natural rubber and both countries accounted for 70.6 per cent of total natural rubber imports, it added.
The rubber gloves industry consumed the highest amount of natural rubber at 25,671 tonnes, followed by rubber thread (7.9 per cent) and, tyres and tubes (6.7 per cent).
These three industries constituted 87.2 per cent of overall domestic consumption of NR, it said.
— BERNAMA
