The epidemic affects the three major rubber-producing countries in Thailand

According to news from Thailand on July 20, affected by the spread of Delta mutant strains, the world’s three major rubber producing countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, have reduced rubber production by 4-5% due to curfews and lockdown measures.

The director of the Thai Rubber Bureau Nakorn said that the price of rubber had fallen slightly due to the epidemic before, but it has begun to improve. The price of smoked sheet rubber has fallen due to the demand of domestic buyers. The opening median price is 52.09 baht per kilogram, and the highest closing price. In Surat Thani Central Market, the price is 51.75 baht per kilogram, while the prices of Songkhla Central Market and Nakhon Si Thammarat Central Market are 51.70 baht per kilogram and 51.51 baht per kilogram respectively. The global market has generally declined, due to pressure factors from foreign futures markets, and crude oil prices have also fallen. In any case, the Thai Rubber Bureau must pay close attention to the market situation. Now that the epidemic continues to be serious, neighboring countries are an important factor affecting the production chain of the rubber industry and other industries around the world, especially the two countries that produce the most rubber in the world.

According to the latest news from the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC), there is almost no rubber production at present, it is quite scarce, and the two countries with insufficient supply and demand. Indonesia has an annual output of 3.22 million tons and Malaysia has an annual output of 560,000 tons. Due to the lockdown measures implemented during the epidemic, the total output of the above two countries is expected to fall 4-5% during the same period.

In addition to the fact that the epidemic situation has not improved, Thailand is also affected by heavy rains in the south. In addition, the shortage of rubber shipping containers cannot be solved, resulting in high transportation costs, including a lack of labor, and a decline in rubber production, which affects domestic prices. Not only that, due to the increase in demand in various countries, foreign rubber stocks have also declined. This can be seen from the countries and car manufacturers that use the most tires, especially in China. With 10.62 million vehicles produced, 10.87 million vehicles are produced. Export sales indicate that demand exceeds supply.

Nakong said that from this wave of epidemics, it can be seen that major rubber producing countries like Indonesia and Malaysia cannot export, and Thailand is also in short supply. However, the price of rubber is not terrible, due to the depreciation of the Thai baht against the U.S. dollar, and operators still have demand for rubber. For the areas where the city is closed, especially in the four southern prefectures of Songkhla, Taogong, Pattani and Yala, various epidemic prevention measures have been promulgated, such as closing the city and prohibiting people from going out, but they will not affect them. Rubber tapping industry and rubber transportation, because agricultural workers are not prohibited from going out, including rubber planting related work.

In order to maintain price stability, the Thai Rubber Bureau will try its best to withdraw fresh rubber juice from the market. Since late January, it has started to run a new fresh rubber juice management project to encourage postponement of sales and stock up of fresh rubber juice, waiting for market demand or when the price is right. sell. In this regard, the Rubber Bureau has provided equipment and chemicals for storing fresh rubber juice to extend the storage period. The goal is to withdraw more than 200,000 tons of rubber juice from the market. In this regard, the Rubber Bureau will continue to pay attention and prepare Solve the problem of rubber volatility. It is believed that Malaysia may have measures to lift the blockade, and it is expected that rubber prices will rebound this month.

Natural Rubber Policy Committee expert member Utai believes that the previous fluctuations and declines in rubber prices are partly due to Malaysia and Thailand itself. The epidemic has prevented Malaysian factories from purchasing concentrated rubber from Thailand, thus affecting the price of rubber in Thailand. In addition, Indonesia’s rubber cannot be delivered, and Thailand’s rubber production is also much less. Now is not a good time to invest and buy rubber.