Industry Overview
Malaysia's Production, Consumption and Trade in Rubber
Production
- Production of rubber in Malaysia increased by 10.6% year-on-year to 880.6 thousand tonnes in 2017.
- NR made up 83.9% of total production of rubber in 2017 with 738.8 thousand tonnes, a 9.7% increase from 673.5 thousand tonnes the previous year.
- Production of SR rose sharply by 15.8% to 141.8 thousand tonnes in 2017 from 122.4 thousand tonnes in 2016.
Consumption
- In 2017, rubber consumption grew 6.8% year-on-year to 970.3 thousand tonnes.
- Total consumption of NR grew at a slower pace of 0.5% to 488.6 thousand tonnes in 2017 from 486.2 thousand tonnes in 2016.
- Consumption of SR rose significantly by 14.0% to 481.7 thousand tonnes in 2017 from 422.4 thousand tonnes the previous year.
Chart 3: Malaysia's Production and Consumption of Rubber, 2010-2017
(thousand tonnes)
Source: International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)
Import
- Total imports of rubber increased 21.3% year-on-year to 1.6 million tonnes in 2017.
- During the same period, NR imports grew strongly by 19.6% year-on-year, accounting for 68.5% of total rubber imports.
- Imports of SR increased 25.1% year-on-year to 511.9 thousand tonnes in 2017 compared to 409.2 thousand tonnes the previous year.
- Since 2015, Malaysia has been a net importer of rubber.
Export
- In 2017, total rubber exports increased significantly by 19.8% to 1.4 million tonnes from 1.1 million tonnes in 2016.
- In the same year, SR exports grew 57.5% year-on-year to 172.0 thousand tonnes, contributing 12.7% to total export of rubber
- NR remained the biggest export in 2017, accounting for 87.3% of the total exports of rubber.
Chart 4: Malaysia's Trade in Rubber, 2010-2017
(thousand tonnes)
Source: International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)