KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's natural rubber production decreased by 0.1 percent to 27,188 tonnes in March from 27,209 tonnes in February, official data showed Tuesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that a year-on-year comparison showed that the production of natural rubber increased by 10.8 percent from 24,549 tonnes in March 2022.
Meanwhile, total stocks of natural rubber in March increased by 6.3 percent to 203,372 tonnes as compared to 191,296 tonnes in February.
Exports of Malaysia's natural rubber amounted to 45,789 tonnes in March, a decrease of 5.4 percent as against 48,393 tonnes in February.
China remained as the main destination for natural rubber exports which accounted for 50.8 percent of total exports in March. This was followed by Germany at 14.7 percent, Türkiye at 4.2 percent, Pakistan at 2.4 percent, and Egypt at 1.7 percent.
The export performance was contributed by natural rubber-based products such as gloves, tires, tubes, rubber thread, and condoms.
Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products with a value of 1.2 billion ringgit (270 million U.S. dollars) in March, an increase of 18.4 percent as compared to 900 million ringgit (202.59 million dollars)in February.
For the first quarter, Malaysia's natural rubber production fell 7.2 percent to 83,848 tonnes as compared to 90,399 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The annual performance of Malaysia's natural rubber production in the first quarter of 2023 recorded a decrease of 17 percent as compared to 101,045 tonnes a year ago.
Citing the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest in March, the DOSM said the negative sentiment of the Kuala Lumpur rubber market was dented by uncertainty in the United States monetary policy owing to renewed concerns over the European banking crisis.
Besides, the market was also pressured by losses in benchmark crude oil prices. ■