Chemicals Advance Materials – Rubber Products

Rubber products are among the most versatile materials used in virtually all modern industries, including E&E, automotive, medical devices, construction, and industrial manufacturing, as well as for polymer modification and other applications. Tyres, latex products such as industrial gloves, and other general rubber products comprise common rubber products. Industrial rubber products including engineered rubber products are new rubber products that have been growing rapidly and is forecast to grow at over five per cent from 2021 to 2027.

With the availability of quality raw materials, good infrastructure and support from R&D centres, Malaysia is a strong global player in the rubber industry, supplying a wide range of rubber products to the world. The country is ranked seventh in the world for natural rubber (NR) production and Malaysian rubber products are exported to more than 190 countries across the globe, whereby the US and EU remained the largest export destinations. Malaysia is the world’s leading supplier of examination gloves, surgical gloves as well as a strong contributor of new tyres, catheters, condoms, and latex threads.

The near future presents the industry with an opportunity to take further advantage of the increasing demand for rubber products. The current rubber industry is labour-intensive and foreign-dependent, with mainly manual and semi-automatic production. Hence, MIDA welcomes investors that can bring in new technologies and high-capital investment that adopts automation and digitalisation. We also encourage local industry players to explore the benefits of the Enhanced Domestic Investment Strategic Fund (DISF) under MIDA and Automation CA incentives to upgrade their machinery and equipment, as well as undertake R&D and upskilling programmes to be more competitive and be resilient against future shocks.