Natural Rubber Production Down 0.4 Pct, But Exports Up 30.6 Pct In January 2026 - DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s natural rubber (NR) production decreased by 0.4 per cent in January 2026 to 28,579 tonnes, compared with 28,684 tonnes in December 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Exports of NR rose by 30.6 per cent to 41,983 tonnes in January 2026 compared with 32,139 tonnes in December 2025.

In the January 2026 Monthly Rubber Statistics released today, DOSM reported that NR production fell by 5.9 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) compared with 30,357 tonnes produced in the previous corresponding month.

“Production of NR in January 2026 for Malaysia was mainly contributed by smallholders (87.6 per cent) as compared to estates (12.4 per cent),” said chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement. 

He said total stocks of NR in January 2026 increased by 9.3 per cent to 133,042 tonnes as compared with 121,686 tonnes in December 2025.

“Rubber processors' factories contributed 80.5 per cent of the stocks, followed by rubber consumers' factories (19.3 per cent) and rubber estates (0.1 per cent),” he said.

Elaborating on exports, Mohd Uzir said China remained the main destination for NR exports, accounting for 40.3 per cent of total exports in January 2026, followed by the United Arab Emirates (15.2 per cent), Germany (13.6 per cent), the United States (US) (5.6 per cent) and Brazil (3.6 per cent).

The export performance was contributed to by NR-based products such as rubber gloves, tyres, tubes and rubber threads.

“Rubber gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products, with a value of RM1.2 billion in January 2026, a decrease of 8.5 per cent compared to December 2025 (RM1.3 billion),” said DOSM.

Meanwhile, the average monthly price showed that concentrated latex decreased by 0.01 per cent (January 2026: 576.14 sen per kg; December 2025: 576.20 sen per kg), while scrap increased by 4 per cent (January 2026: 618.72 sen per kg; December 2025: 592.08 sen per kg).

The World Bank Commodity Price Data reported that the January price for Technically Specified Rubber (TSR) 20 increased 5.9 per cent to US$1.84 per kg from US$1.74 per kg, while the Singapore/Malaysia price increased 3.9 per cent to US$2.14 per kg from US$2.06 per kg.

Meanwhile, the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest stated that the Kuala Lumpur rubber market traded on a mixed but generally stable trend in January 2026.

It said prices were supported by tightening raw material supply due to wet weather in major producing countries, higher regional rubber futures, and positive US and Chinese economic indicators, including supportive developments in China’s automobile sector.

However, gains were capped by uncertainty over US trade and tariff policies, geopolitical tensions, volatile crude oil prices, profit-taking in futures markets, and a stronger ringgit against the US dollar. 

Overall, supply-side constraints and supportive macroeconomic factors helped cushion downside risks, resulting in a stable-to-slightly firmer market for the month.

-- BERNAMA