Metallurgy / Chemicals / Rubber & Plastics

According to statistics released by the Malaysian Rubber Commission (MRC), in the first quarter of 2021, Malaysia’s rubber industry exports reached 21.84 billion ringgit (equivalent to RMB 33.841 billion), an increase of 169.6% year-on-year (the same below). Among them, the export of rubber products such as rubber gloves was 19.54 billion ringgit (equivalent to 30.275 billion yuan), an increase of 213.8%, accounting for 89.5%. The analysis pointed out that the sharp increase in the export volume of the rubber industry was mainly due to the substantial increase in the export of rubber gloves needed to deal with the epidemic.

In terms of rubber gloves alone, the export value was 17.86 billion ringgit, an increase of 265.7%. On the other hand, due to the impact of the epidemic, the export value of dry rubber products such as tires and rubber shoes, which had fallen into a downturn in 2020, reached 1.26 billion ringgit, an increase of 22.1%, from a decrease to an increase.

MRC predicts that the export of rubber gloves will continue to grow substantially in 2021, which will increase by 12% to 15% compared with the significant increase in 2020, thus setting a new historical record.