Singapore – The latest Rubber Statistical Bulletin and the Rubber Industry Report are now available from the International Rubber Study Group. As the sole international body representing the global rubber industry, with its remit centered largely on the provision of timely and relevant economic and statistical information to industry stakeholders, the Secretariat of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) publishes data on production, consumption, trade and prices, covering both natural rubber (NR) and synthetic rubber (SR), on a quarterly basis in its flagship statistical documents, the Rubber Statistical Bulletin (RSB) and Rubber Industry Report (RIR). The April-June 2014 editions of the RSB and the RIR are now available from the IRSG.
The sustained world economic recovery and expansion, especially in the advanced economies, is the underlying reason for the relatively high 4.3 percent growth rate in the first quarter of 2014 for the world total rubber consumption. However, much of the growth in the total rubber consumption was concentrated on China (8.1 percent) and the Asia-Pacific (excluding China), reflecting the regions’ export orientated rubber products industry. World NR consumption increased at a relatively slower rate, as compared to that of the total rubber consumption, not due to weakness in the fundamentals, but due to a process of supply-chain adjustment. Global natural rubber (NR) consumption increased by 4.0 percent in the first quarter of 2014, while NR production was up 1.2 percent.
For the quarter, the world NR market was in a marginal deficit situation, resulting in a reduction of the world NR stocks level. Global synthetic rubber (SR) consumption increased by 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014, while SR production was up 4.1 percent.
For the quarter, the world SR market was in a marginal surplus situation. The robust growth rate of the SR production is a reflection of China’s rapid build-up of its domestic SR capacity. An estimated 702,000 metric tons of SR capacity will have been installed in China by the end of 2014, which will be addressing part of the needs of China’s rubber industry that has been increasing its SR consumption by an average 310,000 metric tons per year in the past four years to 2103, as well.
– Rubber World
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