THE Covid-19 pandemic will drive up rubber prices and increase demand for Malaysian-made gloves this year, said the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB).

Its director-general, Zairossani Mohd Nor, said economic experts have projected that Malaysia will control 65% of the global rubber gloves market in 2020, up 3% from its current share.

He said the increase is equivalent to RM3 billion in additional income for the country – but this will depend on the coronavirus situation.

He said the local rubber industry expands at 5% to 6% annually.

“If we look at the rubber industry in Malaysia, particularly the rubber gloves sector, it has grown every year since the 1980s.

“That came about also because of disease, that is, HIV/AIDS. The country’s rubber gloves sector continued to expand till today, making us the biggest producer in the world,” he told Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme.

In any pandemic, he said, the rubber and healthcare industries are the ones that benefit.

“Besides rubber gloves, we also manufacture catheters, a device for surgery (that has rubber elements).”

Zairossani said in the face of low rubber prices, the industry’s “saviour” is the gloves sector, which is expected to grow by 5% to 25% depending on how the Covid-19 crisis plays out.

Last year, the sector contributed RM17 billion, he said.

He added that the rubber-control mechanism is not a function of MRB, the Rubber Industry Smallholders’ Development Authority, other related agencies or the government.

“Rubber prices are determined by the global market… It goes up and down, and for 2020/2021, it is in the ‘down’ cycle.”

Prices have fallen from RM3 per kg a few years ago to RM1.70 now, causing hardship particularly to rubber tappers and smallholders.

On the industry’s contribution to the Malaysian economy, Zairossani said: “Our export was RM1.3 billion in 1990, and now, it’s RM31 billion.”

He said smallholders must adopt new technologies as land is scarce.

“I am confident that Malaysia’s rubber industry has a bright future.” – Bernama, April 18, 2020.