Malaysia’s natural rubber production increased by 23.8 percent to 29,867 tonnes in June from 24,126 tonnes in May, official data showed Tuesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that year-on-year comparison showed that the production of natural rubber decreased by 3.9 percent from 31,083 tonnes in June last year.
Meanwhile, exports of Malaysia’s natural rubber amounted to 48,857 tonnes in June, increased by 31.8 percent as against 37,062 tonnes in May.
China remained the main destination for Malaysia’s natural rubber exports which accounted for 50.6 percent of total exports in June. This was followed by Germany (7.8 percent), the United States (4.9 percent), Pakistan (3.1 percent) and Iran (2.5 percent).
The export performance was contributed by natural rubber-based products such as gloves, tires, tubes, rubber threads and condoms.
Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products with a value of 900 million ringgit (196.73 million U.S. dollars) in June, a decrease of 5 percent as compared to 1 billion ringgit in May.
The performance of the second quarter showed natural rubber production decreased by 7.6 percent to 77,453 tonnes, as compared to 83,848 tonnes in the first quarter of 2023.
The annual performance of Malaysia’s natural rubber production in the second quarter, however, recorded an increase of 3.8 percent as compared to 74,635 tonnes a year ago.
Citing the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest in June, the DOSM said the positive sentiment of Malaysia’s rubber market was boosted by several factors, including the growing optimism for China’s additional stimulus to sustain their economic recovery, improved vehicle sales in China, as well as the announcement by the World Bank’s upbeat revision on global growth for 2023. (1 ringgit equals 0.22 U.S. dollars)