Output of natural rubber in Malaysia, one of the world's leading producers, rose 13.6 percent to 87,362 tonnes in May from a month, the state-run Malaysian Rubber Board said on Monday.
It said exports of mainly Standard Malaysian rubber during the month fell by 8.7 percent to 72,589 tonnes. The five months ending May, China was the biggest importer taking 127,176 tonnes, followed by Germany, which bought 57,873 tonnes, and the United States took 24,328 tonnes.
The country's natural rubber imports rose 11 percent to 41,669 tonnes in May from a month, the board said. Malaysia buys natural rubber mainly in the form of latex concentrates from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar and Vietnam for its glove-making industry, the worlds largest. Rubber stocks at the end of may fell by 2.5 percent to 144,544 tonnes from April.