Rubber export up 17.6 pct in July

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber export increased by 17.6 per cent in July 2020 to 45,386 tonnes, against 38,587 tonnes recorded in June 2020, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The main natural rubber export destination is China with a share of 58.9 per cent from total exports in July 2020 followed by Germany (6.0 per cent), Finland (5.1 per cent), Iran (3.9 per cent) and Taiwan (3.0 per cent).

Rubber gloves were the main export item with export value increasing by 14.0 per cent from RM2.78 billion in June 2020 to RM3.17 billion in July 2020, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement yesterday.

He said stocks of natural rubber also declined in July 2020 by 7.4 per cent to 235,119 tonnes as compared to 253,994 tonnes in June 2020.

Production of natural rubber increased 24.7 per cent in July 2020 to 41,801 tonnes as compared to 33,531 tonnes in the previous month while the comparison year on year showed a decrease of 30.4 per cent as compared to the same month in the previous year.

“Average price of Latex Concentrate recorded a decrease of 467.20 sen per kg as compared to June 2020 (479.90 sen per kg). On the other hand, Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR. 20) increased to 497.86 sen per kilogramme as compared to 484.33 sen per kilogramme for the same period”, he said.

DOSM also reported that domestic consumption of natural rubber in July 2020 was 46,844 tonnes, an increase of 5.8 per cent as compared to the previous month.

Rubber glove manufacturing was the main industry with 36,024 tonnes or 76.9 per cent of the total domestic consumption, it said. — Bernama