FAR EAST: ANRPC sees higher rubber output

Its secretary-general, Datuk Dr Kamarul Baharain Basir, said ANRPC members produced about 93% of the global NR.

He said Thailand was still the largest producer with 34.82% followed by Indonesia (28.88%), Malaysia (9.71%), and Vietnam (7.91%).

“The NR supply growth for 2005-2011 of member countries is related to the average annual increase in tapped area of 1.8%, yield per ha (1.7%) and production (3.5%),” he said in his speech at the Sixth International Rubber Glove Conference and Exhibition (IRGCE) 2012 in Kuala Lumpur on 5 Sept. 2012.

Kamarul said ANRPC forecast Thailand would produce 3.6 million tonnes of NR, Indonesia (3.2 million tonnes) and Malaysia (1 million tonnes) for this year.

While total consumption by members of the ANRPC was likely to rise this year, the debt crisis in Europe and its possible impact on Asia would cast a shadow over the demand prospect for NR, he said.

On the synthetic latex industry, associate director of IHS Chemical Olefins and Elastomers Asia, Samuel Liew, said the nitrile latex demand was expected to continue to grow.

He said demand was able to absorb the fast-expanding capacity and cost would continue to be large driver for nitrile latex producers.

“There is a need to hedge against rising cost through market education,” he said.

He said the global demand for nitrile latex was about 900,000 wet tonnes last year with more than half of the demand from Asia.

“The majority of the demand is in Asia with Malaysia and Thailand being the largest nitrile latex consumers,” he said.

Source: Daily "The Star", Kuala Lumpur; 6 Sept 2012

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)