KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia expected to tap protein from natural rubber latex for use as a component of animal feeds to reduce its import, local newspaper reported on Monday.

    The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) said that the protein is extracted from the serum created during the process of turning latex into rubber concentrate.

    The product innovated last year would help the government reduce the import of animal feeds costing 2 billion ringgit (571.43 million U. S. dollars) each year, MRB Deputy Director Mohd Akbar said.

    The planned commercialization in three to five years depended on the market needs.

    Malaysia is one of the major natural rubber producing countries in the world.