The Malaysian rubber industry is expected to remain resilient this year bolstered by higher export earnings of rubber products and stronger global demand for rubber gloves.
Malaysian Rubber Products Manufacturers’ Association President Datuk Dr Ong Eng Long said there will be price increases in the next coming months amid the current dry spell.
On the sector’s sustainability, Ong said the industry needs to exploit high yield and suitable clones to reach yield of 1.8 tonnes per hectare a year and plant more densely to reach 550 stands (trees) per hectare.
“We need to ensure that the output of high-yielding clones are suitable for the downstream segment to use them in replanting and new planting by 2015,” he
told Bernama at the Business-to-Business (B2B) Meetings between Indian Rubber Products Exporters and Malaysian Importers here today.
Ong also said he expects the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) and latex product revenue to grow by seven per cent over the next 10 years by increasing latex concentrate production to reach 300,000 tonnes per year by 2020.
It was reported earlier that rubber products would continue to be the main contributor to the industry in terms of export earnings and it was expected to hit RM40.5 billion this year compared to last year’s projection at RM38 billion.
As for the rubber products sector, about 25 per cent of Malaysia’s total exports went to the United States while the same percentage went to the European
Union countries, mostly to Germany and the United Kingdom.
He also expressed concern that most of the issues and challenges faced by the dry rubber products sector are still unresolved.
“Better emphasis and proper push under the Economic Transformation Programme should boost the downstream rubber sector hence contributing to the aspiration of Malaysia to enjoy a high-income economy in 2020,” he said.
The B2B meetings were organised by India’s International Trade Facilitation and Export Promotion Council.
The two-day B2B matching which began today includes the participation of 15 leading Indian Rubber products manufacturers seeking to sell and establish
business ties with Malaysian rubber product importers.
Source: NST
Published: 06 Mar 2014