Natural rubber consumption seen expanding through 2018, outpacing production growth, the Rubber Economist says in report. Output estimate at 12.388m tons in 2016; demand at 12.538m tons; deficit of 151,000 tons. Output est. at 13.069m tons in 2017; demand at 13.088m tons; deficit of 19,000 tons. Output estimate at 13.299m tons in 2018; demand at 13.672m tons; deficit of 373,000 tons. Production totaled 12.277m tons in 2015; demand 12.146m tons; surplus 131,000 tons. Synthetic rubber demand seen -0.5% y/y…

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no special fund to raise rubber prices but is concerned about the impact of falling prices on the incomes of smallholders, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong. In reply to a question from Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS-Marang) at the Dewan Rakyat today, Mah said the government has already implemented the Rubber Production Incentive (IPG) scheme since 2015 to reduce the burden on smallholders…

SHAH ALAM: Top Glove Corp Bhd is ramping up its capacity expansion for nitrile gloves to be the number one producer for such product. “The demand for nitrile gloves is growing faster than natural rubber. We want to be the market leader in the nitrile glove space,” executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai said at a briefing on Tuesday. Lim said currently Top Glove had a 16% to 18% share in the nitrile…

China is planning to merge Sinochem Group and China National Chemical Corp. to create an oil-to-chemicals giant as part of the government overhaul of its state-owned enterprises, according to a person familiar with the matter. Details of the deal, which would combine more than $100 billion of assets, weren’t immediately clear and the plan’s still subject to change, the person said, asking not to be identified because it hasn’t been publicly announced. In response to the Bloomberg…

SEGAMAT: The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) on Tuesday introduced the e-licensing system to replace its existing information system to provide better access for the public to be involved in the rubber business. Plantations Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said the new system allowed users to register and check the status of their own licence application. “I hope the public will take advantage of this as they no longer need to…

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asia’s spot butadiene (BD) prices are having a welcome respite, after surging by more than 42% since early August, amid the week-long holiday in China, market players said on Tuesday. China, which is a key BD market in Asia, is on holiday from 1-7 October for the celebration of its National Day, while most regional players are also out attending the 50th AnnualEuropean Petrochemical Association (EPCA) meeting being held in Budapest, Hungary, on 1-4 October. But tight…

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will introduce a new initiative to arrest the declining rubber production, the Malaysian Rubber Board said. Its director-general, Datuk Dr Mohd Akbar Md Said, said the new technology comes with a cluster concept with a vertical integration approach to curb further fall in rubber production and the model is expected to be ready by November. He said the vertical integration approach model would enable the rubber upstream and downstream sectors to…

Pune, India – Since 2011, the global natural rubber market has been in a state of over-supply which reached 220,000 tons in 2011 and about 140,000 tons in 2015. Affected by the growing tapping area of natural rubber in main producing regions, the slowdown in the growth rate of the tire industry and other factors, there will still be aglut of natural rubber worldwide during 2016-2020, and the global glut will be 110,000 tons or so in 2020, according to the latest report…

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) says truck and bus tire manufacturers in China are dumping tires in the U.S. at less than fair market value, and those tires should be subject to tariffs of at least 20%. The tariffs are retroactive.   Chinese truck and bus tires are benefitting from government subsidies and dumping in the U.S., the DOC has found in its preliminary investigations. The DOC’s final ruling is expected Jan. 17, 2017….

A Chinese tire manufacturer will build a consumer tire plant in the U.S. Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. will invest $530 million in the plant, to be located in LaGrange, Ga. More than 1,000 jobs will be created in Troup County as a result of the investment. “We are very happy to select LaGrange (as) the location of our North American manufacturing,” says Sentury Tire Executive Vice President Rami Helminen. “The education systems and high…