Flooding across parts of major rubber and palm oil producer Malaysia due to monsoon rains has cut production in December, a senior government official said, squeezing supply and lifting prices. Heavy downpours and floods this month have destroyed acres of plantation and forced a quarter of a million people to be evacuated from their homes, local authorities say.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Douglas Uggah Embas expects rubber supply to "reduce drastically" in early 2015 due to the floods. Palm oil output may decline by about 15-30 percent in December against the usual drop of 10 percent during the rainy season, he said. Heavy rains prevent plantation workers from harvesting palm fruit, resulting in rot.