KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries expects to record a year-on-year decline in global demand for natural rubber in 2023.
Consumption is on track to reach 15.438 million metric tons last year, slightly down on the 15.511 million tons reported in 2022, ANRPC said in its latest monthly report, covering 2023 market data to November.
The Kuala Lumpur-based industry body linked the "subdued global outlook" for NR demand primarily to the "underperformance of non-ANRPC members."
The trend, it said, was partly linked to "prolonged geopolitical tensions, including those between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the Israel-Palestine conflict."
Demand from non-ANRPC members is expected to fall 11.1 percent year-on-year in 2023 to 4.113 million tons.
As a result, non-ANRPC members' proportion of global NR demand is likely to fall below 30 percent, the lowest share to date.
Additionally, factors such as elevated borrowing costs due to rate hikes contributed to the restrained forecast.
The demand share among ANRPC member countries is, meanwhile, on track to surpass 70 percent, with China, Thailand and India performing particularly well, the association said.
China, as a key consumer, has seen demand approach "close to 44 (percent) of the global share," playing an important part in the rubber market. According to the ANRCP, NR demand from China is likely to grow 3.7 percent year-on-year to reach 6.722 million tons last year.
Also contributing to a generally positive demand scenario are Thailand, with 1.0-percent growth to 1.592 million tons, and India, where consumption is set to grow 5.7 percent year-on-year to 1.400 million tons.
In sharp contrast, however, consumption trends in Malaysia and Sri Lanka are in reverse mode, with projected year-on-year declines of 20 percent and 24 percent, respectively, in 2023.
