A global shortage of medical gloves due to a coronavirus-driven surge in demand is to carry over into next year, Malaysia, the world’s biggest gloves supplier, said yesterday, warning buyers to be wary of scammers promising quick supplies.
BUYER BEWARE
World consumption of the personal protective equipment is estimated to jump more than 11 percent to 330 billion pieces this year, two-thirds of which are likely to be supplied by Malaysia, its rubber glove manufacturers association (MARGMA) said.
It recently received more than a dozen reports of frauds and fake agents claiming to represent member companies for glove supplies.
Fraudsters have produced counterfeit company letters to appoint bogus agents or have quoted potential customers “ridiculous” prices with a promise to cut short delivery time.
OVERWHELMING DEMAND
“Buyers are reminded that while glove prices have soared and demand is overwhelming, the industry’s supply is being fully booked until early next year,” MARGMA president Denis Low (劉昭甫) said in a statement.
“MARGMA foresees the shortage of gloves due to overwhelming demand this year to spill into 2021,” Low said.
PROTECTING WORKERS
The global disposable gloves market was valued at US$7.6 billion last year, and it is expected to reach US$11.8 billion by 2025, VynZ Research said.
MARGMA, whose members include top-two players Top Glove Corp and Supermax Corp, also said that worker safety and welfare were being monitored “critically” as pressure increases to step up production.
Last week, a group of European politicians urged the European trade commissioner to make sure that increased demand does not become an excuse to exploit workers, who come mainly from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal.
The US in March lifted a ban on imports from Malaysian glove maker WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd it had accused of using forced labor.
Developed economies, home to only a fifth of the world’s population, account for nearly 70 percent of glove demand due to their stringent medical standards.
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