KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's natural rubber production saw a sharp decline in the first quarter of 2026, falling 25.3 percent year-on-year to 71,013 tons, according to official data released on Wednesday.
The figure also represented a 10.4-percent drop compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.
On a monthly basis, production fell 8.2 percent in March to 21,310 tons. Compared with a year earlier, the March output plunged 29.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's natural rubber exports edged lower in March, falling 2.2 percent month-on-month to 33,137 tons.
China remained the largest export destination, accounting for 44 percent of total shipments during the month. Germany was the second-largest market at 18.1 percent, followed by Portugal (4.6 percent), the United States (4.4 percent) and Brazil (3.9 percent).
