KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): Malaysia’s production of natural rubber in September 2012 rose 1.1% but exports fell, according to the Department of Statistics (DOS) Malaysia today.
In a statement today, the DOS said the total production of natural rubber (NR) in September 2012 was recorded at 72,846 tonnes, up by 785 tonnes (+1.1%) from the previous month.
However, production of natural rubber (NR) was reduced by 4,882 tonnes (-6.3%) as compared to September 2011.
In September 2012, a total of 60,337 tonnes of NR was exported. This was down 3.4% month-on-month and 23.9% year-on-year.
NR was mainly exported to China (42.6%), Germany (16.2%), Iran (5.6%), Korea (4.1%), U.S.A. (3.7%) and Portugal (2.7%). The rest went to France, South Africa, Belgium, Brazil and other countries.
In September 2012, Malaysia imported 79,968 tonnes of NR, mainly from Thailand and Vietnam. This was an increase of 3.2% as compared to Aug 2012 and 24.2% as compared to Sept 2011.
The total domestic consumption of NR in September 2012 increased by 5.0% from August 2012 to 37,063 tonnes. Local consumption also rose by 13.6% when compared to data a year ago.
The rubber gloves industry was the highest consuming industry of NR at 25,514 tonnes (68.8%), followed by rubber thread (8.8%) and tyre & tubes (7.0%). These three industries consumed a total of 31,381 tonnes, accounting for 84.6% of the country’s consumption.
At end-September 2012, NR stocks stood at 133,960 tonnes, up by 3.4% as compared to the previous month. But NR stocks decreased by 2.1% when compared to the level of stocks a year ago.
In September 2012, the average monthly price of latex concentrate was at 586.71 sen per kilogramme, up by 19.26 sen (+3.4%) when compared to August 2012.
Source: theedgemalaysia.com
