Natural rubber production will continue to decline

Natural rubber production is expected to continue to decline in 2020 and early 2021. This opinion is expressed by the natural rubber industry organization International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), which unites Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The decline in production, ITRC believes, is mainly due to erratic weather, Pestalotiopsis rubber tree disease and reduced harvesting operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic - mainly in Thailand and Malaysia.

Despite declining production of natural rubber, experts believe that consumption will increase as China, the largest consumer of this raw material, is ramping up its economic activity after a near complete halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Chinese government is encouraging the development of the auto industry, which leads to increased imports of rubber from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. In the first seven months of the year, supplies of rubber to China increased by 405.4 thousand tons compared to the same period in 2019.

In addition, the demand for natural rubber is growing due to the continued increase in the production of medical gloves. This will strengthen the price of raw materials, experts from the ITRC believe.

Natural rubber production in ITRC member countries is estimated to decline by at least 859,000 tonnes during 2020, from 8.793 million tonnes in 2019.