KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) — Natural rubber exports in January 2014 increased 3.2 per cent to 70,423 tonnes from the same period in 2013, the Statistics Department said Wednesday.
Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) contributed 94.2 per cent of the total exports, with 55 per cent of that comprising SMR 20, the department said in a statement.
Natural rubber was exported mainly to China (49 per cent), followed by Germany (14 per cent), the United States (6.9 per cent), Brazil (3.4 per cent), Iran (2.7 per cent), South Africa (2.4 per cent), Portugal (2.1 per cent) and South Korea (2.1 per cent).
However, compared with December last year, natural rubber exports declined by 15.5 per cent, the department said.
Production for the month under review totalled 91,567 tonnes, up 3.5 per cent year-on-year, with the smallholding sector contributing 93.6 per cent whilst the estate sector accounting for 6.4 per cent.
“Kedah produced the highest natural rubber in estates, accounting for 21.8 per cent, followed by Negeri Sembilan (20.2 per cent) and Johor (15.2 per cent),” the department said.
Total natural rubber for domestic consumption in January 2014 was recorded at 35,338 tonnes, down 6.2 per cent year-on-year, with the rubber gloves industry being the highest consuming industry at 25,492 tonnes (72.1 per cent), followed by tyres and tubes (7.1 per cent) and rubber thread (6.6 per cent).
The country’s natural rubber stocks stood at 221,856 tonnes as at January 2014, a 32.1 per cent increase from December 2013 and 17.5 per cent higher compared with January 2013.
The average monthly price of latex concentrate was 485.30 sen, a 9.4 per cent fall from December 2013 and also a 21 per cent drop from the same month in 2013.
Production productivity for the month under review was recorded at 142 kg per ha., up by 8.6 per cent from the previous month but a four per cent decrease year-on-year.
— BERNAMA
