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 The world's biggest maker of medical gloves by volume, Top Glove
Corp Bhd, has the capacity to make 200 million gloves a day, but a
supplier shutdown has left it with only two weeks' worth of boxes to
ship them in, its founder told Reuters.
"We can't get our gloves to hospitals without cartons," Executive
Chairman Lim Wee Chai said in an interview. "Hospitals need our
gloves. We can't just supply 50% of their requirement."
The virus, which emerged in China at the end of last year, has left
Malaysia with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia at
nearly 1,800 cases, with 17 deaths. To halt transmission, the
government has ordered people to stay home from March 18 to April
14.
Glove makers and others eligible for exemption can operate
half-staffed provided they meet strict safety conditions. Still, the
Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) said it
was lobbying "almost every hour" to return the industry to full
strength to minimize risk to the global fight.
"We're shut down," said Evonna Lim, managing director at packaging
supplier Etheos Imprint Technology. "We fall under an exempted
category but still need approval."
Dr Celine Gounder, an infectious diseases specialist at the New York
University School of Medicine, said she was using up to six times as
many gloves as normal each day due to the number of patients with
COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
"If we get to the point where there is a shortage of gloves, that's
going to be a huge problem because then we cannot draw blood safely,
we cannot do many medical procedures safely."
GLOBAL CALL
With glove supplies dwindling, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
on its website this month said some gloves could be used beyond
their designated shelf life. On Tuesday, the United States lifted a
ban on imports from Malaysian glove maker WRP Asia Pacific who it
had previously accused of using forced labor.
Britain's Department of Health & Social Care has urged Malaysian
authorities to prioritize the production and shipment of gloves that
are of "utmost criticality for fighting COVID-19," showed a letter
dated March 20 to glove maker Supermax Corp and shared with Reuters.
MARGMA is considering rationing due to the "extremely high demand,"
its president Denis Low told Reuters. "You can produce as many
gloves as you can but then there's nothing to pack them into."
Under normal circumstances, Top Glove can meet less than 40% of its
own packaging needs. For the remainder, it said just 23% of
suppliers have gained approval to operate at half strength.
"We are lobbying almost every hour, we are putting in a lot of
letters to the ministry," said Low. "We are lobbying hard for the
chemical suppliers and we want to ensure that the printers are also
being given approval and any other supporting services, even
transportation."
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In a statement, MARGMA said that as they were having to rely on half of their
staff to work overtime during the lockdown, costs would rise by up to 30% and
that buyers had agreed to bear that.
Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Tuesday said it had
received masses of applications to operate through the lockdown, and that it was
seeking cooperation from industries to give way to those producing essential
goods.
AUTOMATION
Developed economies are home to only a fifth of the world's population yet
account for nearly 70% medical glove demand due to stringent medical standards.
At 150, U.S. glove consumption per-capita is 20 times that of China, latest
MARGMA data showed.
MARGMA expects demand to jump 16% to 345 billion gloves this year, with
Malaysia's market share rising two percentage points to 65%. Thailand usually
follows at about 18% and China at 9%.
Top Glove said orders have doubled since February and it sees sales rising by a
fifth in the next six months. Its stock, with a market value of about $3.5
billion, has risen by a third this year versus a fall of 16% in the wider
market.
The company, with customers in 195 economies, registered the highest net money
inflow last week among listed Malaysian firms, along with peer Hartalega
Holdings Bhd, showed MIDF Research data. Other glove makers include Kossan
Rubber Industries Bhd and Careplus Group Bhd.
"We are fortunate enough to be in essential goods," said Lim. "These few months
and at least the next six months will be an all-time high in terms of sales
volume, revenue and profit."
With more than 80% of its 44 factories worldwide automated, Top Glove itself is
less impacted by the lockdown than its more labor-intensive domestic suppliers.
Packaging woes aside, however, ramping up production could turn under-supply
into over-supply when the coronavirus outbreak finally subsides.
"This outbreak will create awareness and make humankind healthier," said Lim.
"People will pay more attention, they will invest more, they will buy more so
demand will be more."
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Krishna N. Das; Additional reporting by Ebrahim Harris
and Daveena Kaur; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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