Govt Aims to Widen Global Reach for Rubber Products

The Government is pushing the nation’s rubber products industry towards a wider market reach as it shows potential of doing even better.

Plantation Industries and Com­modities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the industry would also utilise technology to widen its global reach and presence.

“As the world’s largest rubber glove producer and exporter, we look forward to new innovations and technologies for the sector to become part of the industrial revolution,” Mah told a press conference after launching the International Rubber Industry Conference and Exhibition 2017 here yesterday.

Mah said Malaysia’s rubber ex­­ports were doing well and on course to meet this year’s target of RM20bil.

This projection, he added, was based on the fact that the industry’s earnings for the first quarter of the year rose by 39% in comparison to the same period last year.

He said the industry earned RM18.12bil from the export of rubber and rubber products in 2016, of which RM5.6bil was from the first quarter, against this year’s RM7.8bil.

According to Mah, China was the biggest buyer of Malaysia’s rubber and rubber products during the first quarter of 2017, followed by the United States.

He said the industry must adopt automation to increase productivity as well as strengthen its resilience.