Beijing - China's natural rubber production growth may be little changed this year as a drought in key growing regions curbs output, said Zhu Xiuyan, president of the China Natural Rubber Association.

"China produced about 642,000 tons of natural rubber in 2009, and my estimate at the moment is we will see output stay at that level this year," Zhu said in an interview with Bloomberg News at a conference in Qingdao. Imports may rise this year on government efforts to lift domestic consumption, Zhu said.

Natural rubber demand may rise 7 percent to 2.89 million tons on strong growth in the vehicle market, Fan Rende, head of the China Rubber Industry Association, said.