According to the annual result of import of natural rubber in FY2015 summarised by The Rubber Trade Association of Japan, import amount of raw rubber was 682,171 tons, which was 1% decrease of the actual result compared to the previous year. And the import amount of money was 131,526,580,000 JPY, which was 13% decrease compared to the previous year. Also annual average unit price was 192.8 JPY, which was 27.6 JPY cheaper than the previous year.
Looking back the import result of natural rubber of FY2015, import amount was recorded as 6% decrease compared to the previous year in January, but it surpassed the result of the previous year for 6 months in a row after February. After that, it turned to decrease since August, and cumulative amount was also slightly lower than the result of the previous year.
Production of tyres that is a main demand of natural rubber did not do well throughout the year. Looking at domestic production amount for automotive tyres and tubes (statics by JATMA), it was below the result of the same month of the previous year for 12 months in a row after January 2015, and cumulative amount was also 5.7% lower than the previous year. Amongst that, the first half term showed the tendency that surpasses the result of the same month of the previous year due to some facts like import amount was suppressed having considered a reduction due to the reaction by the increase of consumption tax. But production of tyres did not recover even after the second half term started, and import amount of natural rubber did not increase either.
On the other hand, the amount of money for import was recorded as a decrease of 29% compared to the same month of the previous year in January due to the influence by the stagnation of the prices of natural rubber. After having continued to decrease, some ups and downs were observed in some months in the middle of the year, but the second half term showed a tendency of decrease again.
The price of natural rubber was shifted relatively stably having been supported by some countermeasures for unsettled weather in the producing areas, prices of the producing countries and so on. But second half term showed a tendency of decrease both with the amount of money for import and unit prices in a consistent way due to the stagnation of crude oil prices, the sharp decline of Shanghai stock market quotations and so on, while the supply and demand status of natural rubber had not been improved.
Furthermore, the amount of import in December only was 41,498 tons in total, which was 26% less than the same month of the previous year, and the amount of money for import was 7,195,600,000 JPY, which was 34% less than the same month of the previous year. That means that both amounts decreased for 4 months in a row.
The average import unit price for raw rubber in December was 173.4 JPY per kilo, which was 4.9 JPY cheaper than the previous month, and this means that it decreased for 4 month in a row. Also it was 22.5 JPY lower compared to the same month of the previous year.