Malaysia -- Natural rubber production in July rose 5.9 per cent to 104,286 tonnes when compared with June. Production, however, declined 16.9 percent when compared with the same month last year, the Statistics Department said in a statement on Tuesday. The smallholding sector contributed 94.1 percent of the total production while the estate sector contributed 5.9 per cent. Total production in the first seven months of this year fell 5.7 per cent to 694,392 tonnes compared with the corresponding period 2006. NR exports in July fell 4.1 percent to 77,783 tonnes when compared with June. It recorded a decline of 9.3 percent when compared with the same month last year. The Standard Malaysian Rubber constituted 93.5 percent of the total exports. During January-July period, exports of NR were mainly to China (184,143 tonnes), Germany (78,520 tonnes), South Korea (34,242 tonnes), US (33,673 tonnes), France (27,592 tonnes), Brazil (20,818 tonnes) and Portugal (13,055 tonnes). NR imports in July increased 11.0 percent to 51,996 tonnes from June. However, when compared with the same month last year, it fell by 4.5 percent. During the first seven months, NR imports came mainly from Thailand (74.9 percent), Vietnam (6.8 percent), the Philippines (5.3 percent), Myanmar (4.1 percent) and Indonesia (3.7 percent). Domestic consumption of NR in July was 37,006 tonnes, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared with June s. It increased 14.2 per cent when compared with the same month last year.
