KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s natural rubber production experienced a significant increase in October 2024, rising by 20.6 percent to 38,400 tonnes from 31,847 tonnes in September 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The year-on-year production also grew by 16.6 percent compared to October 2023, when production stood at 32,944 tonnes.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the DOSM’s Monthly Rubber Statistics for October 2024 revealed that the smallholders sector contributed 88.6 percent of the production, with the estates sector accounting for the remaining 11.4 percent. The report also noted a 1.9 percent increase in total stocks of natural rubber in October 2024, reaching 134,844 tonnes, up from 132,391 tonnes in September 2024. Rubber processing factories were responsible for 88.1 percent of the stocks, followed by rubber consumer factories at 11.8 percent, and rubber estates at 0.1 percent.
Malaysia’s natural rubber exports amounted to 48,151 tonnes in October 2024, a 20.6 percent inc
rease compared to 39,930 tonnes in September 2024. China was the largest destination for these exports, comprising 43.2 percent of the total, followed by Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Portugal. The export performance was primarily driven by natural rubber-based products such as gloves, tyres, tubes, and rubber thread. The export value of gloves alone reached RM1.5 billion in October 2024, marking a 21.8 percent increase from September 2024.
The DOSM’s average monthly price analysis indicated an increase in the price of concentrated latex by 9.8 percent, reaching 746.36 sen per kg in October 2024, while the price of scrap rose by 7.4 percent to 738.01 sen per kg. All grades of Standard Malaysian Rubber saw price increases ranging from 6.2 percent to 9.7 percent.
According to the World Bank Commodity Price Data, the price of Technically Specified Rubber (TSR 20) rose by 5.4 percent, while Singapore/Malaysia prices showed a slight decrease of 0.7 percent. The Malaysia Rubber Board D
igest highlighted a mixed market during this period, with SMR 20 prices fluctuating within a narrow range due to global supply shortages and a positive demand outlook.
Additionally, DOSM launched OpenDOSM NextGen, a platform offering a data catalogue and visualisations to aid analysis, accessible at https://open.dosm.gov.my.