India Overtakes U.S. As Second Largest Consumer of NR

India has overtaken the recession-hit U.S. as the second largest consumer of natural rubber, clocking a 6.8 percent growth in 2009-10. India's consumption of rubber rose to 930,565 metric tons in 2009-10 from 811,720 metric tons. The United States lost the No. 2 position after its consumption plummeted by 34 percent on account of the economic slowdown. China is the world's largest rubber consumer. During 2008-09, the consumption of natural rubber by the U.S. was 1,041,000 metric tons, which fell to 687,000 metric tons in 2009-10 on account of recessionary trends. In India, the consumption of rubber by the automotive tire sector in 2009-10 climbed by 13.5 percent in comparison to 2008-09.

Malaysian Rubber Sector to Recapture Its Bounce

Malaysia is poised to remain competitive on the global front via revitalised strategies and action plans under the newly launched Malaysian Rubber Industry (MRI) Strategies 2010-2020 and Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) Strategies 2010-2020.
 
By 2020, Malaysia is targeting for rubber productivity to hit 1.8 tonnes per ha per year, total production of about 1.8 million tonnes, total rubber planted area of 1.2 million ha and tappable area of one million ha.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the formulation of the domestic rubber industry strategy to reposition the sector and sustain its competitiveness was timely given the highly challenging global environment.

Both the midstream and downstream sectors would focus on improving market share through value-addition and diversification initiatives, including sustaining the growth of the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) market and creating the market for speciality rubber and value-added production.