KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia's June natural rubber (NR) production rose by16.8 per cent month-on-month to 29,914 tonnes from 25,608 tonnes in May 2024, according to the Statistics Malaysia Department (DoSM). Year-on-year, it increased by 0.2 per cent from 29,867 tonnes in June 2023. 'Production of NR in June 2024 was mainly contributed by smallholders (87.6 per cent) versus the estates sector (12.4 per cent),' chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today. Citing the Malaysia Rubber Board Digest published in June 2024, DoSM said the Kuala Lumpur rubber market moved downtrend coupled with soft Chinese economic data. 'Market sentiment was also dampened by new European Union tariffs on China, and after the United States (US) Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. 'Global sentiment was also weighed down by persistent weak demand, particularly from China and uncertainties about US monetary policies,' it said. In June 2024, the average monthly price for concentrated latex imp roved by 4.4 per cent to 775.19 sen per kg from 742.36 sen per kg in May 2024 while scrap went up 7.7 per cent to 707.51 sen per kg versus 657.16 sen per kg in the previous month. Prices for all Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) increased between 3.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent in June 2024 compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, DoSM said total NR stock decreased 8.5 per cent to 160,535 tonnes in June 2024 versus 175,381 tonnes in May 2024, with rubber processor factories contributing 90.1 per cent of the stocks, followed by rubber consumer factories (9.8 per cent) and rubber estates (0.1 per cent). It said NR exports fell 21.6 per cent to 39,800 tonnes in June 2024 from 50,798 tonnes in the previous month. 'China remained the main destination for NR exports, accounting for 35.7 per cent of June's total exports, followed by Germany (11.8 per cent), India (11.0 per cent), the United Arab Emirates (6.6 per cent) and the US (6.2 per cent). The export performance was contributed by NR-based products such a s gloves, tyres, tubes and rubber thread. 'Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products valued at RM1.23 billion in June 2024, a 1.7 decrease versus RM1.25 billion in May 2024,' it added. Source: BERNAMA News Agency