PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s rubber glove producers will further ramp up production to cater to the requirement for protective medical gloves despite the movement control order from March 18 to March 31, according to the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA).
“MARGMA is also agreeable that certain essential services and industry be allowed to operate as they are providing critical products and services. In this same vein, the rubber glove industry will need to continue to produce medical and surgical gloves which are very essential and critical items in the fight against the coronavirus,” its president Denis Low said in a statement.
In order to produce sufficient rubber gloves, the association hopes that the government will understand that service providers and raw materials and packaging suppliers to the industry to be allowed to operate to ensure smooth production.
“Any halt to the production & administrative segments of our industry would mean an absolute stoppage to glove manufacturing and it will be disastrous to the world.”
Low also explained that MARGMA and its members play a significant role in providing essential protective gear during this pandemic as Malaysia is the leading producer of medical gloves, supplying almost 65% of global demand.
In total, Malaysian rubber gloves are exported to 190 countries globally.
For 2020, MARGMA expects the global demand for natural and synthetic rubber medical gloves to reach over 345 billion pieces compared to 298 billion pieces in the previous year.
Malaysia is looking to export about 65% or about 225 billion pieces or more, depending on the spread and duration of Covid-19.
