KL records 28% fall in rubber income

KL records 28% fall in rubber income

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's total rubber export earnings fell 28 percent in 1999 to 12.65 billion ringgit (US$3.3 billion), the official Bernama news agency said Wednesday.

Alladin Hashim, chairman of the Malaysian Rubber Board said while rubber and rubber product sectors fell, rubberwood products posted growth.

Total export rubber earnings in 1998 was 13.01 billion ringgit, he was quoted as saying by Bernama in the board's annual report.

Alladin said earnings from the export of natural rubber in 1999 fell 17 percent to 2.33 billion ringgit while rubber products income decreased 7.2 percent to 6.03 billion ringgit during the same period.

But export earnings from rubberwood products sector rose 15.9 percent to 4.29 billion ringgit in 1999 compared with 3.71 billion ringgit previously, he said.

Alladin said production of natural rubber in Malaysia continued to decline and in 1999 fell by 13 percent to 769,036 tons compared to the previous year.