Industry Overview

Production

Production of rubber in Malaysia increased by 10.6% yoy to 880.6 thousand tonnes in 2017.
During the first six months of 2018, rubber production declined by 18.5% to 361.3 thousand tonnes from 443.5 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
NR made up 79.5% of total production of rubber in the first six months of 2018 with 287.1 thousand tonnes, a drop of 24.2% from 378.7 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
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 six months of 2018, total rubber consumption rose by 16.6% to 559.9 thousand tonnes, from 480.0 thousand tonnes in the first half of 2017.
Total consumption of NR increased by 8.7% to 257.7 thousand tonnes in the first six months of 2018 from 237.1 thousand tonnes in the same period last year.
Consumption of SR rose sharply by 24.4% to 302.2 thousand tonnes in the first six months of 2018 from 243.0 thousand tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Chart 3: Malaysia's Production and Consumption of Rubber, 2011 – 2018 (Jan - June)
(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 six months of 2018, rubber imports increased by 6.8% yoy to 792.4 thousand tonnes.
During the same period, NR imports grew strongly by 6.0% yoy to 529.5 thousand tonnes, accounting for 66.8% of total rubber imports.
Imports of SR also increased sharply by 8.5% yoy to 262.9 thousand tonnes in the first six 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 six months of 2018, Malaysia exported 640.0 thousand tonnes of rubber, a decline of 1.7% compared to the first six months of 2017.
NR remained the biggest export in the first six months of 2018, accounting for 88.2% of total rubber exports.
During the same period, SR exports rose by 18.1% yoy to 75.8 thousand tonnes.

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

Source: International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)