Global natural rubber (NR) production increased 7.1 per cent during the first five months of the current year. According to the latest estimates by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), total output in January-May by the leading nine producing countries was 3.6 million tonnes. This was 3.4 million tonnes in the same period last year.
ANRPC’s total production of NR is now expected to reach 10.06 million tonnes this year, up 6.2 per cent from 9.47 million tonnes in 2010. The anticipated growth for the current year closely matches the 6.4 per cent growth attained in 2010. The supply growth this year comes from area expansion and improvement in yield by 43 kg per hectare.
The global production increased 9.6 per cent in January, and 8.2 per cent in February according to the preliminary estimates, and it is expected to go down to 5.4 per cent in March, 5.2 per cent in April and 5.9 per cent May.
The consumption trend during January-May did not match with the supply as the total usage was 2.5 million tonnes only. In January, consumption was 469,000 tonnes and fell to 418,000 tonnes in the next month. From March onwards, there were some signs of improvement on the demand side, as the monthly consumption increased to 510,000 tonnes. This again rose to 546,000 tonnes in April and 557,000 tonnes in May.
In India, consumption of NR was low since the beginning of 2011. The consumption grew only 0.6 per cent in January, 3.4 per cent in February and is expected to grow at a 1.9 per cent annualised rate during the first quarter.