Malaysia enjoys several distinctions in the rubber industry. It is the world's:

• #1 supplier of medical rubber gloves
• #1 supplier of foley catheters
• 4th largest exporter of natural rubber
• 3rd largest producer of natural rubber
• #1 consumer of latex concentrate
• 9th largest consumer of all rubber
• 5th largest consumer of natural rubber

Source your rubber and rubber products needs from Malaysia.

Natural rubber comprised 44.3% synthetic rubber 55.7% of total rubber production in 2008.Total world rubber production declined to 21.14 million tonnnes in 2009, down by 6.74% from 22.67 million tonnes in 2008.

Table 1: World Rubber Production and Consumption ('000 Tonnes) 2000 – 2009

Consumption

Malaysia is currently the world's ninth largest consumer of all rubber, following China, the USA, Japan, India, Germany, France, South Korea and Russia and the fifth largest consumer of natural rubber behind China, the USA, Japan and India.

With the availability of quality raw materials, political stability and good infrastructure, and supported by the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) of the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) through advances in its R&D, Malaysia is a global player, supplying the world market with a wide range of rubber products.

Please visit our Trade Facilitation page to view the types of rubber products that Malaysian rubber product manufacturers are able to supply.

Malaysia is the world's third largest producer of natural rubber. Despite an increase in the consumption of NR, Malaysia has been able to export more than one million tonnes of NR since 2004 (Table 2). Thus, consumers of NR can still look towards Malaysia as a source of supply for quality raw rubber of SMR (Standard Malaysian Rubber) grades, specialty rubber such as ENR, DPNR and TPENR and latex concentrate products such as Low Protein Latex.

Table 2: Malaysia's Rubber Production, Export and Consumption (Tonnes), 2000 - 2009

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Production of NR1	927,608	882,067	889,832	985,647	1,168,735	1,126,023	1,283,632	1,199,553	1,072,365	857,019
Export of NR1	977,975	858,993	927,919	1,646,708	1,369,428	1,322,165	1,184,396	1,018,052	916,599	703,051
Consumption of NR1	363,715	400,888	407,884	420,775	402,769	386,472	383,324	450,246	468,894	468,706
Consumption of SR2	95,000	96,000	90,000	90,000	86,500	96,400	112,400	122,800	124,500	129,500

Source:

Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DOS) and International Rubber Study Group (IRSG)

Rubber Products

Export
Export of rubber products by value has been increasing since 2001.Value of export surpassed RM 8 billion in 2004 and in 2007 it reached the RM 10 billion level. Year 2008 has seen Malaysia’s export values reaching the highest ever level, at RM 11.24 billion. In 2009, exports declined marginally, by 5.7%, as demand was affected by the global recession.  

Table 3: Malaysia's Export of Rubber Products (Million RM), 2000 - 2009)

Destination

Malaysian rubber products are exported to more than 160 countries in the world. The USA and China remain the two biggest markets for Malaysian rubber products accounting for more than 35% of Malaysia's total export of rubber products. Other important markets for Malaysian manufacturers include Germany, Japan and United Kingdom.

Malaysia is renowned worldwide for its high quality, competitively priced rubber products. Malaysian rubber products manufacturers comprise multinationals from various countries including the USA, Europe and Japan, as well as locally-owned medium and small sized enterprises. These companies are able to supply a whole range of rubber products such as medical gloves, automotive components, beltings and hoses.

Malaysia is the leading supplier of examination and surgical gloves, satisfying almost 50% of the world’s demand. Examination gloves are mainly used in the medical and health care facilities. Malaysia is also the world’s leading supplier of foley catheters and the second largest exporter of latex threads (vulcanized rubber thread and cord). Latex thread is mainly used in the apparel industry as elastic bands and supports. Other important latex products include condoms, balloons, finger stalls, teats and soothers. Malaysia also produces a wide range of industrial rubber products (Table 4) such as hoses, beltings, seals, wires and cables for the world market.

Table 4: Malaysia’s Export of Selected Rubber Products, 2005 – 2009

Source:  Department of Statistics, Malaysia

• To meet with any of the raw rubber processors or rubber products manufacturers in our list, or
• If you are looking for investment opportunities to set up rubber products manufacturing plants in Malaysia, or
• If you are looking for strategic joint-venture partners in Malaysia.

You could also use Malaysia as a launching pad to penetrate markets within ASEAN as well as markets in the Southern hemisphere and Middle East due to the close and harmonious working relationship and high regard for Malaysia in these regional groupings.