KUALA LUMPUR – Glove manufacturers can switch their focus to tap on non-medical industry players as clients, to make the industry lucrative and continue to thrive, rather than banking on the healthcare sector per se, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.
She said industry players should creatively explore ways and means to make the glove industry lucrative and thrive again, although certainly not at the same pace as when demand was soaring and the average selling price had skyrocketed to record levels.
She said the pandemic has sparked great awareness about the importance of hygiene to prevent contamination or even to curb the spread of diseases.
“After all, disposable non-medical grade gloves come in a range of sizes, colours, thicknesses, and textures. Applications for such gloves exist in businesses from tattoo parlours to laboratories and childcare centres.
“While the food and beverages industry was only a small consumer of gloves for the longest time, the past eight to 10 years has seen rising awareness, with industry players and consumers alike taking cognisance of the fact that handling food revolves around cleanliness,” she said in a statement.
Zuraida noted that this even applies to the semiconductor electronic industry, to protect an electrical or electronic component from contamination.
“In fact, I personally just completed a 10-nation tour that included Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, and Turkey to promote our commodities and open up new markets, During the visits, we signed numerous memoranda of understanding while taking the opportunity to dispel some allegations against our commodities and set the record straight,” she said.
Hence, she stressed, the ministry would do its best to help local manufacturers secure new markets and spread their wings to non-medical sectors.
“We have constantly been working closely with our local industry players and by continuing to do so, there is no doubt that our local rubber glove industry will continue to thrive,” she said.
Zuraida applauded the timely move by the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association to tap on non-medical industries to drive future demand for non-medical grade gloves, as the reopening of borders spurs economic recovery.
“It is an open secret that the prices of glove stocks on Bursa Malaysia have slumped substantially since the beginning of the second half of 2021.
“Painful as it is, we have to accept that it is highly unlikely that the ‘gold rush’ days at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, whereby every glove stock one touched turned into gold and prompted the mushrooming of new industry players, will recur anytime soon especially as the world is gradually transitioning into the endemic phase,” she added. – Bernama, May 4, 2022
