KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Malaysia’s natural rubber production in October 2019 decreased by 21.4 per cent to 48,549 tonnes from 61,731 tonnes in the preceding month, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia today.

In a statement, its chief statistician, Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said compared with October 2018, the production of natural rubber also fell by 5.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, exports of Malaysia’s natural rubber amounted to 50,600 tonnes, an increase of 5.3 per cent from 48,058 tonnes in September 2019, with China remaining the main export destination contributing 39.3 per cent of the total natural rubber exports.

"The average price of latex concentrate in October 2019 was 425.61 sen per kilogramme as compared to 438.28 sen per kilogramme in the previous month.

"The average price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) decreased to 536.50 sen per kilogramme against 551.39 sen per kilogramme in September 2019,” he said.

He said the rubber glove manufacturing industry was the main consumer with total consumption of 31,677 tonnes or 75.6 per cent of the total domestic consumption in October 2019. — Bernama