Natural rubber output up 29.5% in February 2017

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's natural rubber production in February 2017 rose by 29.5% to 86,403 tonnes as compared to the previous month, according to Department of Statistics.
The department said in a statement today, the main contributor of natural rubber production is from smallholding sector which is more than 90%.
It said the average monthly price of latex concentrate and Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 were 798.33 sen per kilogramme (kg) and 966.94 sen per kg, rose by 12.3% and 1% respectively from January 2017.
Malaysia's natural rubber exports increased by 15% to 57,959 tonnes in February 2017 as compared to January 2017. The five main destinations of natural rubber exports were China, Germany, Iran, US and Finland.
Domestic consumption of natural rubber declined by 7.9% to 36,528 tonnes within the same period. However, rubber gloves industry remain as the main domestic consumer of over 70%.
At the end of February 2017, level of natural rubber stocks went up by 11.3% to 246,599 tonnes, it added.