KUALA LAMPUR (Commodity Online): Malaysia, third largest producer of natural rubber (NR), exports during December 2011 rose 14.8% to 76,144 tons, according to Statistical Department.
Malaysia exports NR mainly to China, Germany, South Korea, Iran, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the United States, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
Meanwhile, the production in December 2011 increased 17 per cent to 79,726 tons than previous month and the imports rose 5.2% to 62,918 tons.
On the back of cooling global economic crisis, the NR demand from the Members of The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) is expected to rise by 0.3% in Q1 2012.
The global NR production is projected to be 11.42 million tons while consumption will reach 11.49 million tons during 2012.
Thailand is the top producer of NR, followed by Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar and India.
India's NR production is esstimated to be around 9.42 lakh tons and consumption to be around 10 lakh tons for 2012-13.
For February delivery, in Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), NR traded at 304 yen/kg and In India's National Multi commodity Exchange (NMCE), traded at Rs 18963 per ton on 13th February.
