ANRPC releases Monthly NR Statistical Report, March 2026

Foreword by Secretary-General

It is my privilege to present the ANRPC Monthly Natural Rubber Market Report for March 2026. If February captured the market’s dynamism, March confirmed its underlying strength. Across every benchmark grade and every major trading hub, prices firmed in the face of an exceptional external environment, a clear demonstration that the global natural rubber (NR) industry today operates from a position of structural resilience, pricing discipline, and strategic relevance. Driven by a 3.4% contraction in March output and a massive 42.51% surge in Brent crude, major rubber benchmarks climbed across the board. Natural rubber didn't just hold its ground; it capitalized on the supply squeeze and rising oil costs to push even higher. Below is a summary of the latest trends and data points defining the NR sector:

SMR-20 in Kuala Lumpur averaged USD 2.04/kg (+1.45%), STR-20 in Bangkok USD 2.20/kg (+4.08%), RSS-3 in Bangkok USD 2.56/kg (+8.94%), RSS-4 in Kottayam USD 2.35/kg (+0.50%), and centrifuged latex in Kuala Lumpur USD 1.72/kg (+12.64%). The futures complex reinforced the same picture, with the Shanghai Futures Exchange May contract averaging 16,662 CNY/ton and the SGX June contract closing the month at USD 1.95/kg. In a period when many commodity markets were buffeted by uncertainty, natural rubber not only held — it advanced.

The supply context underlying this firmness deserves particular emphasis. Global production in March is forecast at 786,000 tons, with Thailand contracting to 164,000 tons against a backdrop of temperatures of 42–43°C and rainfall as much as 69% below seasonal norms in the country’s southern producing regions. These are demanding conditions for our growers, but they have also produced an instructive market signal: when supply tightens, demand absorbs the adjustment without disorder. That, more than any single price print, is the hallmark of a mature and well-anchored commodity.

Demand fundamentals tell an equally constructive story. China’s natural rubber consumption surged from 446,000 tons in February to 610,000 tons in March, supported by a manufacturing PMI that rose to 50.4 — its strongest reading in a year — a 74.4% month-on-month rebound in vehicle production, and a 130% year-on-year leap in new energy vehicle (NEV) exports to 371,000 units. China’s NR imports rose 39.03% month-on-month to 629,800 tons. On the export side, Vietnam advanced 47.34%, Malaysia 13.73%, and Thailand 8.3%. Far from a market in retreat, the trade flows describe an industry actively meeting renewed and broadening demand from the world’s largest mobility transition.

The crude oil environment, often viewed only as a source of volatility, in fact reinforces the strategic case for natural rubber. With Brent averaging USD 101.02 per barrel and peaking at USD 126.69 on 31 March, the input-cost competitiveness of synthetic rubber has eroded materially. Tyre manufacturers and downstream users now have a sharper economic incentive than at any point in recent memory to favour natural rubber within their feedstock mix. What presents as an external shock is, for our industry, a structural tailwind.

Equally encouraging are the policy and investment signals emerging from member countries. Malaysia’s decision under the 13th Malaysia Plan to raise replanting assistance to RM20,000 per hectare in Peninsular Malaysia and RM23,000 per hectare in Sabah and Sarawak is a clear vote of long-term confidence in the sector. In Indonesia, the new collaboration between Universitas Indonesia, Bridgestone Corporation, Yokohama City University, and Maebashi Institute of Technology on elite Hevea brasiliensis genetics points the way toward higher-yielding, more resilient rubber trees. These are the actions of an industry investing in its own future.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, the natural rubber market enters the deepest part of the seasonal low-yield period with demand fundamentals that are firming rather than fading. Sustained NEV adoption across China, India, and ASEAN, an elevated oil-price floor that strengthens NR’s competitive position, ongoing replanting and productivity investments across producing countries, and tightening near-term supply together describe a constructive setting for prices in the months ahead. Risks remain — trade frictions, weather extremes, and the trajectory of the conflict involving Iran will warrant continued vigilance — but the weight of evidence from March is that this industry has the depth and the discipline to convert uncertainty into opportunity.

I encourage member governments, industry partners, and stakeholders to engage closely with the analyses contained in this report. Current subscribers due for renewal, as well as prospective subscribers, are warmly invited to contact the ANRPC Secretariat at secretariat@anrpc.org.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Suttipong Angthong

Secretary-General