China imports 250,000 tons of NR in first two months of 2007

China imported 250,000 metric tons of natural rubber in the first two months of this year, up 14 percent from the same period last year, due to rapidly growing domestic demand, according to initial data from the General Administration of Customs. "China's car tire industry has double-digit annual growth for several years, and domestic production is insufficient to meet needs," analyst from CIFCO, Lin Hui, said. Lin added that lower prices abroad have also triggered traders to import more rubber. China produces around 500,000 to 600,000 tons of natural rubber each year and imports around 1.8 million to 2 million tons annually. China is the world's largest natural rubber importer and mainly imports from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.