KUALA LUMPUR—The natural rubber industry posted a strong recovery in 2021, with an 8.7-percent growth in demand compared to 2020, according to the latest figures offered by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.
Total consumption figures came in at 14.079 million metric tons in 2021, as demand increased in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, said ANRPC in its full year update Feb. 9.
Despite the overall positive development, the association noted a slowdown in demand in the final quarter of the year, as December 2021 and fourth quarter recorded a contraction at 3.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.