MALAYSIA'S NATURAL RUBBER PRODUCTION DROPS 20.3 PCT IN MARCH 2025 -- DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production fell by 20.3 per cent to 28,712 tonnes in March 2025 from 36,005 tonnes in February 2025, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, however, production increased by 6.5 per cent year-on-year compared with 26,966 tonnes in March 2024.

“Production of NR in March 2025 for Malaysia was mainly contributed by smallholders sector (90.9 per cent) as compared to estates sector (9.1 per cent),” he said in a statement today.

He noted that total NR stocks in March 2025 increased by 4.1 per cent to 215,054 tonnes from 206,665 tonnes in the preceding month. Rubber processors factory contributed 87.6 per cent to the stocks, followed by rubber consumers factory (12.3 per cent), and rubber estates (0.1 per cent).

Mohd Uzir said that Malaysia’s NR exports amounted to 52,573 tonnes in the month reviewed, down 4.1 per cent from 54,847 tonnes in February 2025.

China remained the main destination for NR exports, accounting for 47.7 per cent of total exports in March 2025, followed by Germany (8.0 per cent), the United States (US; 7.4 per cent), the United Arab Emirates (6.3 per cent), and Egypt (3.3 per cent).

“Exports were contributed by NR-based product such as gloves, tyres, tubes, and rubber thread. Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products worth RM1.3 billion in March 2025, an increase of 9.5 per cent as compared to RM1.2 billion in February 2025,” he said.

Meanwhile, DOSM reported that the average monthly price of concentrated latex rose by 0.4 per cent to 696.05 sen per kilogramme (kg) in March 2025, compared to 693.13 sen per kg in February 2025, while scrap rubber prices declined by 1.1 per cent to 761.92 sen per kg from 770.44 sen previously.

It also noted that the price trend for all Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) grades was mixed, ranging from a decrease of 1.9 per cent to an increase of 0.4 per cent.

“The World Bank Commodity Price Data reported the prices for Technically Specified Rubber (TSR 20)  has decreased 1.5 per cent to US$1.98 per kg (US$1=RM4.30) from US$2.01 per kg, while prices in Singapore and Malaysia decreased by 2.1 per cent to US$2.36 per kg from US$2.41 per kg,” the department said.

According to the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest published in March 2025, the Kuala Lumpur Rubber Market showed a mixed trend in tandem with the regional rubber futures markets as the market sentiment responded to the US trade tariff decisions and an expanded global trade war.

“Losses in crude oil prices and fluctuations in the ringgit against the US dollar amid the rising geopolitical crisis also dragged down market sentiment,” it added.

-- BERNAMA