Natural rubber output up 14.3% in December 2017

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's natural rubber (NR) production rose 14.3% in December 2017 to 67,125 tonnes as compared to November 2017, according to the Department of Statistics.
In a statement today, the department said the smallholding sector remained as the main contributor of NR production, accounting for more than 90%.
Year-on-year comparisons showed a decrease of 3.3% compared to December 2016, it said.
It said the average monthly price of latex concentrate and Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 in December 2017 were 473.11 sen per kilogramme (kg) and 580.79 sen per kg, decreased by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively as compared to November 2017.
Malaysia's NR exports grew 9.3% to 51,995 tonnes in December 2017, compared with the previous month. The five main destinations of the NR exports were China, Germany, Iran, US and Finland.
Domestic consumption of NR rose by 2.7% to 43,617 tonnes within the same period, while the rubber gloves industry remained the main NR domestic consumer at 73.8%.
Meanwhile in terms of stocks, the department said the level of NR stocks as at December increased by 6.4% to 230,315 tonnes compared with the previous month.