KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production fell by 20.8% to 30,342 tonnes in January 2025, compared to 38,299 tonnes in December 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

However, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said production increased by 0.2% year-on-year from 30,287 tonnes in January 2024.

“NR production in January 2025 was mainly contributed by the smallholder sector (87.0%) followed by the estates sector (13.0%),” he said in a statement on Thursday.

He noted that total NR stocks in January 2025 increased by 6% to 177,936 tonnes, compared to 167,801 tonnes in December 2024.

"This was due to rubber processors factory contributing 87.5% of the stocks, followed by rubber consumer factory (12.4%) and rubber estates (0.1%)," said Mohd Uzir.

Meanwhile, DOSM reported that Malaysia’s NR exports totalled 44,337.6 tonnes in January 2025, a marginal decline of 0.001% against December 2024 (44,337.8 tonnes).

China remained the main export destination, accounting for 43.6% of total NR exports in January 2025, followed by Germany (11.1%), the United Arab Emirates (9.3%), the US (7.6%) and Portugal (3.0%).

“The export performance was driven by NR-based products such as gloves, tyres, tubes and rubber thread. Gloves remained the leading rubber-based exports, valued at RM1.4 billion in January 2025, down 8.1% from RM1.5 billion in December 2024,” DOSM stated.

Additionally, DOSM reported that the average monthly price of concentrated latex fell by 3% to 678.42 sen per kilogramme (kg) in January 2025, compared to 699.35 sen per kg in December 2024, while scrap rubber prices declined by 1.9% to 743.27 sen per kg from 757.28 sen previously.

It also noted that prices for all Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) types dropped between 1.6% and 3%.

“The World Bank Commodity Price Data reported that the price of Technically Specified Rubber (TSR 20) slipped by 3.1 % from US$1.99 per kg to US$1.93 per kg, while prices in Singapore and Malaysia also retreated by 0.6 % to US$2.37 per kg from US$2.38 per kg,” the department said.

According to the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest published in January 2025, the Kuala Lumpur rubber market showed a mixed trend in tandem with the regional rubber futures markets.

“Market sentiment was weighed down by uneven economic performance of the US and China. The market also faced downward pressure from the strengthening ringgit against the US dollar and declining crude oil prices,” it added.

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