The rubber production in Malaysia has been strongly affected by the ongoing economic slowdown. According to news from infotainment web portal Sina.com, lesser demand on rubber has led to decrease in production, export and import.
Department of Statistics Malaysia announced last Friday (Apr 17) that the country’s natural rubber reserve dropped to 161,691 tons in February. The volume is down 21% compared to the same period last year. In the same month, production of natural rubber also dropped to 72,732 tons, down 37% year on year while export also fell by 28% to reach 59,836 tons.
Malaysia also consumed less natural rubber in February, using only 35,433 tons, showing a year on year decrease of 10%.
In addition to the damaged done by recession, Malaysian rubber planters also were forced to put the harvest on hold due to heavy rainfall.
Source: plastics.2456.com
