JAKARTA - The North Sumatra Indonesian Rubber Company Association (Gapkindo Sumut) recorded the export of natural rubber in this region in February 2026 reached 18,661 tons.
Gapkindo North Sumatra Executive Secretary Edy Irwansyah said the number increased month to month compared to January 2024.
"The volume of North Sumatra Rubber exports in February 2026 increased by 1.05 percent compared to January 2026 which reached 18,467 tons," said Edy Irwansyah as reported by ANTARA, Monday, March 30.
Even though it increased MoM, Edy explained that the volume of rubber exports decreased when compared year on year (Yoy) or February 2025.
Edy explained that the volume of rubber exports in February 2025 was recorded at 20,659 tons or decreased by 9.67 percent.
"Despite the monthly increase, this achievement still reflects a relatively stagnant export condition and is far from the historical normal level which can reach around 42 thousand tons per month," he said.
He said that condition shows that the recovery of global demand for natural rubber is still gradual and not even.
In addition, the two said, the main factors that still suppress export performance include global demand that has not fully recovered, especially from the automotive and manufacturing industries.
Then, there is a delay in shipping due to ship schedule constraints influenced by global logistics dynamics, including disruptions to shipping lanes in strategic areas such as the Strait of Hormuz.
"On the other hand, the supply of natural rubber from North Sumatra is also still limited due to the autumn leaf (wintering) which causes a decrease in production at the garden level," he said.
Even though exports decreased, Edy explained that the price of rubber in February 2026 was recorded at 193.76 US cents per kilogram or increased by 9.49 cents in January 2026.
He said the price increase was inseparable from global dynamics, including the energy crisis which drove up the cost of producing petrochemical-based synthetic rubber, thus increasing the appeal of natural rubber as a substitute.
In terms of destination markets, Edy said that North Sumatra rubber exports in February 2026 were still dominated by major countries such as Japan 30.05 percent, the United States 22.95 percent, Chona 10.18 percent, Brazil 9.07 percent and South Korea 3.35 percent.
Meanwhile, the total Indonesian rubber exports to the European Union Region, namely Italy 2.6 percent, Germany 2.2 percent, France 2.1 percent, Spain 1.6 percent, Romania 1.6 percent, Belgium 1.5 percent, Luxembourg 0.6 percent, Slovenia 0.6 percent, Poland 0.4 percent, Bulgaria 0.2 percent and the Netherlands 0.1 percent.
"Strengthening prices and the emergence of demand from non-traditional markets such as South Korea provide early signals of the potential for market improvement in the future," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
