Orders for rubber set to increase in 4Q

Sri Lanka is expecting an increase in orders from October for rubber, the Forbes & Walker Rubber Market report for September stated.

Industry experts have forecast order volumes from Europe to rise from October onwards following the conclusion of the summer vacation and improvement in rubber export earnings especially from the US region in the future, as they anticipate new orders.

However with the US elections coming into place, it is possible that there will be a slight decrease in orders.

With the price escalation of natural rubber the global markets are likely to move away from the natural rubber products to synthetic rubber products, according to the Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products (SLAMERP).

As a result of this Sri Lanka’s competitiveness in the global market is declining not only due to pricing issues but also because of concerns related to high energy and water tariffs, a shortage of labour, unexpected fluctuations in the rupee, and a scarcity of raw rubber materials within the country.

The month’s average price for Latex crepe 1X increased by Rs.76/25, the average price of No.1s rose by Rs.64 per kilo. No.2s gained ground by Rs.41/75 whilst No.3 improved by Rs.28/75 and No. 4 declined by Rs.16/25 per kilo. Demand for latex crepe was strong during the month.

The volumes of RSS available at the auctions remained very low since majority of the smallholders have shifted from RSS manufacturing to supplying of latex to centrifuge plants. The average price of RSS 1 during the month was Rs.752 per kilo. (SD)