BANGKOK—Members of the International Tripartite Rubber Council—Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia—have reported a double-digit decline in natural rubber production, due in part to an outbreak of leaf fungal disease.
During a Nov. 6 meeting, ITRC members noted that their combined NR production for the first half of the year fell 10.6 percent to 492,000 metric tons, compared to the same period in 2018.
By contrast, non-ITRC members such as Vietnam, Ivory Coast and Cambodia increased production by 11.6 percent to 106,000 tons for the period, IRTC operational arm International Rubber Consortium (IRCo).
"In 2019, there is a high possibility that the estimated NR production for ITRC Member Countries reduce by as much as 800,000 tons," the IRCo statement added.
In addition to the production declines, ITRC member states implemented the sixth agreed export tonnage plan (AETS) earlier this year, the aim of which was to curb exports by 240,000 tons over a three-month period, starting April.
The trio said they reduced exports by 441,648 tons during the period, adding that there were no hanging stock to be released to the market pursuant to the implementation