NATURAL RUBBER PRICE IS EXPECTED TO RISE

On August 26, the Rubber market report released by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) said natural rubber prices could rise further as China is expected to significantly increase its purchases in the coming weeks.

Affected by high shipping prices, Chinese tire factories currently prefer to purchase natural rubber from China, and Chinese rubber consumer enterprises prefer to purchase from the warehouses of domestic rubber import enterprises rather than directly import, and the total inventory of natural rubber in the warehouses of Chinese rubber import enterprises has decreased significantly.

China is expected to consume about 500,000 tonnes of natural rubber per month from August to November 2021, with domestic production meeting about 115,000 tonnes, ANRPC said. And July to November is the peak of natural rubber production, is expected to be in this peak season, China’s monthly import demand of 385,000 tons; At this rate, total demand for the four months from August to November 2021 is estimated at 1.54 million tons.

Chinese buyers are poised to enter the Asian natural rubber market for large-scale imports and are expected to dominate physical market sentiment in the coming months, according to ANRPC’s report. Meanwhile, ANRPC expects demand for natural rubber in the US, EU, UK and India to rebound in the short term. Natural rubber production from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, which together account for 70 per cent of global natural rubber supply, is expected to weaken due to a rebound in the global coronavirus pandemic, low vaccination rates and government lockdowns.

In Malaysia, for example, production and transportation of rubber have been affected, despite the country’s official statement that it would not impose strict controls on rubber cutters and workers who transport rubber. According to the latest news from the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), rubber production in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia is indeed suffering from the impact of the epidemic, with Indonesia and Malaysia in particular. Total production in both countries is expected to fall by 4-5% until containment measures are relaxed, the ITRC estimates. Rubber prices have also recently remained high at 13,800.00 yuan(US dollars 2,133.00 )per ton due to concerns about the expected supply of tire materials.