KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Stocks of natural rubber fell 2.3 per cent to 179,844 tonnes in September 2018 compared with 184,051 tonnes at the end of August, says the Statistics Department (DoS).

In a statement today, the department said Malaysia’s natural rubber exports fell 9.2 per cent to 52,365 tonnes for the month under review, with China as the main destination (49.4 per cent), followed by Germany (16.8 per cent), Finland (5.4 per cent), South Korea (three per cent) and Turkey (2.8 per cent).

“Domestic consumption of natural rubber in September was 41,219 tonnes against 42,984 tonnes during August, a reduction of 4.1 per cent.

“The rubber glove industry as the main consumer used 31,454 tonnes or 76.3 per cent of the total natural rubber domestic consumption,” it said,

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s natural rubber production declined by 22 per cent in September to 49,022 tonnes versus 62,862 tonnes in August. Year-on-year production decreased 6.1 per cent.

When compared with August, the DoS said the average price of latex concentrate recorded an increase of 0.5 per cent at 409.18 sen per kg and the average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (S.M.R. 20) was 0.2 per cent higher at 544.29 sen per kg.