"European Rubber Magazine" Kuala Lumpur, February 23, according to the latest data provided by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), the global natural rubber industry has achieved a strong recovery in 2021, with demand increasing by 8.7% compared to 2020.

The association's full-year update released on February 9 showed total consumption in 2021 at 14.079 million tonnes, as demand from countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam increased.

Despite the overall positive development, demand slowed in the final quarter of last year, contracting 3.2% in December and 1.9% in the fourth quarter. The ANRPC said this was due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and logistics delays and supply chain issues caused by high transportation costs.

On the supply side, natural rubber production edged up only 1.7% to 13.821 million tonnes in 2021, down 61,000 tonnes from ANRPC's November estimate. Supply fell 3.7% year-on-year in December due to factors such as severe weather and high rainfall in key producing countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

"These unfavorable weather will certainly disrupt the supply of raw materials as the number of days to tap rubber is affected," ANRPC said. The association also noted that the average price of TSR-20 grade standard rubber in 2021 will be about $1.68/kg, and the average price of RSS grade smoked sheet rubber will be around $1.68/kg in 2021. The price is $2.17/kg.