Malaysia's Natural Rubber Production Down 22.5 Pct in February 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s natural rubber production in February 2019 declined 22.5 per cent to 59,017 tonnes compared with 76,104 tonnes in January 2019, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia. In a statement, chief statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the production of natural rubber decreased 6.7 per cent compared to that of February 2018. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s natural rubber exports for February 2019 decreased 17.5 per cent to 41,102 tonnes compared with January 2019, with China being the main destination of exported natural rubber, representing 42.6 per cent of the total natural rubber exports. “The average price of latex concentrate in February 2019 was 410.50 sen per kilogramme (kg) compared with 393.29 sen per kg in the previous month, while the average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 rose to 558.09 sen per kg against 548.48 sen per kg in January 2019,” he said. The department also reported that domestic consumption of natural rubber in February 2019 was 39,835 tonnes and the rubber glove manufacturing industry is the main consumer with total consumption of 29,952 tonnes or 75.2 per cent of the total domestic consumption. -- BERNAMA