Natural rubber supply, demand grow in first half

Kuala Lumpur – Global supply of natural rubber grew marginally during the first half of 2023, latest data from the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) shows.

Over the six months, production reached to just under 6.3 million tonnes, up 0.8% compared to the year before, said the association citing preliminary estimates by member states.

Over the month of June, production reached 1.1 million tonnes, up 1.9% compared to the year before, ANRPC said in its 21 July monthly NR report.

Month-on-month, however, production improved at a much faster rate of 11.5% with output “gradually improving” among members states.

Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea retained their production at levels similar to those in the previous month.

ANRPC maintained its full-year outlook for production at 14.8 million tonnes, up 2.5% compared to 2022.

Demand at the mid-year point reached 7.5 million tonnes, also showing a 0.8% improvement compared to the year before.

During June, NR consumption grew 2.1% year-on-year to just under 1.3 million tonnes but remained below the levels of May.

While the major NR-consumers China and India reported a contraction in demand, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, and “rest of the world” posted positive growth in June.

ANRPC expects demand to grow faster in July, at a year-on-year rate of 4.2%. For the full year, demand is set to remain flat for 2023, at 15.1 million tonnes.