KUALA LUMPUR: Rubber glove manufacturers dominated Bursa Malaysia’s top gainers list on rising demand for healthcare products due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the close, Top Glove added RM2.24 to RM15.54, Rubberex Corp rose 98 sen to RM4.54, Hartalega garnered 64 sen to RM13.18, Comfort Gloves increased 58 sen to RM4.20, Adventa improved 52 sen to RM2.28, Kossan Rubber Industries gained 43 sen to RM9.13 while Careplus was up 42 sen to RM1.82.
Cumulatively, Top Glove and Hartalega contributed 14.94 points to the composite index.
The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) said the Covid-19 pandemic will drive rubber prices higher following an increase in demand for Malaysian rubber gloves this year.
It said economists projected that Malaysia would control 65% of the global rubber gloves market in 2020 – a 3% rise from the current 62%, equivalent to RM3 bil additional income for the country, although this would depend on the developments in the battle against the pandemic.
An MRB official said the rubber gloves sector – which is expected to grow by 5% to 25% this year – will be the Malaysian rubber industry’s saviour amid the current low rubber price, pointing out that the sector contributed RM17 bil in 2019.
“Rubber price is controlled by the global market. Generally, looking at the historical performance of the industry, it goes up and down, and currently it is on the down cycle,” he said.
The rubber price fell from RM3 per kg a few years ago to RM1.70 currently, causing hardship for those involved in the industry, particularly the rubber tappers and smallholders.
At the close, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s (MRB) reference physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 was 6 sen higher at 478 sen per kg, while latex-in-bulk rose 7.5 sen to 459 sen per kg. – June 1, 2020, Bernama
