Malaysia (People's Daily Online) -- Malaysia's rubber output is expected to improve slightly from last year as prices rise, a senior government official said last week. "Although from January to May there was a slight decline of 4.3 percent compared with the same period last year, we expect output to catch up in the second half of the year," said Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) director general Kamarul Baharain. From January to May, Malaysia produced 489,632 tonnes of natural rubber. Natural rubber trade follows crude oil closely because both raw materials are used interchangeably in the making of tires. "Rubber prices are on an uptrend since mid-July, this is an incentive for smallholders to tap their trees. We should be able to achieve 1.2 million tonnes or slightly more if prices remain on the uptrend," the New Straits Times quoted Kamarul Baharain as saying.
