Industry Overview

Production

Production of rubber in Malaysia increased by 10.6% yoy to 880.6 thousand tonnes in 2017.
During the first three months of 2018, rubber production declined by 18.5% to 215.6 thousand tonnes from 264.7 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
NR made up 81.6% of total production of rubber in the first three months of 2018 with 175.9 thousand tonnes, a 25.1% drop from 235.0 thousand tonnes in Q1 2017.
Production of SR rose sharply by 33.4% to 39.7 thousand tonnes in the first three months of 2018 from 29.8 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Consumption

In 2017, rubber consumption grew by 7.6% yoy to 970.3 thousand tonnes.
In the first three months of 2018, total rubber consumption rose by 11.2% to 266.3 thousand tonnes, from 239.5 thousand tonnes in Q1 2017.
Total consumption of NR increased by 10.2% to 129.4 thousand tonnes in the first three months of 2018 from 117.7 thousand tonnes in the same period last year.
Consumption of SR rose sharply by 12.5% to 136.9 thousand tonnes in the first three months of 2018 from 121.8 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Chart 3: Malaysia's Production and Consumption of Rubber, 2011 – 2018 (Jan - Mar)
(thousand tonnes)

Source: International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)

Import

Since 2015, Malaysia has been a net importer of rubber.
Total imports of rubber increased by 20.9% yoy to 1.62 million tonnes in 2017.
In the first three months of 2018, rubber imports increased by 16.0% yoy to 474.1 thousand tonnes.
During the same period, NR imports grew strongly by 17.7% yoy to 337.0 thousand tonnes, accounting for 68.7% of total rubber imports.
Imports of SR also increased sharply by 31.3% yoy to 137.2 thousand tonnes in the first three months of 2018.

Export

In 2017, rubber exports increased by 18.8% to 1.35 million tonnes from 1.13 million tonnes in 2016.
During the first three months of 2018, Malaysia exported 307.7 thousand tonnes of rubber, a decline of 7.1% compared to the first three months of 2017.
NR remained the biggest export in the first three months of 2018, accounting for 88.3% of total rubber exports.
During the same period, SR exports rose by 11.7% yoy to 39.9 thousand tonnes.

Chart 4: Malaysia's Trade in Rubber, 2011 – 2018 (Jan - Mar)
(thousand tonnes)

Source: International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)