Malaysian association says rubber gloves market to make a comeback

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Natural rubber gloves are poised to make a comeback "once buyers' mindset and concerns are appropriately addressed," according to Supramaniam Shanmugam, president of Malaysian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association (MARGMA).

The depletion of inventory in the pipeline will bring about a "normalcy equilibrium" between production capacity utilization and global demand, and alternative synthetics and natural rubber gloves will see wider consumer acceptance, said Shanmugam.

The industry veteran made the remarks on Sept. 6 at what has been described as the world's largest rubber and glove event.

The two-day event, held Sept. 6-8 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, featured the 10th International Rubber Glove Conference & Exhibition (IRGCE), the third International Rubber Industry Convention and Expo (IRICE) and the Rubber Conference (RubberCon).

Offering latest industry data, Shanmugam said with "an equilibrium in demand" and with the normalization of average selling prices, the Malaysian rubber glove industry is set to export $5.07 billion worth of gloves—about 1.2 percent of Malaysia GDP—in 2022.

The figure stands well below the $12.08 billion reported in 2021, which was driven by "the exceptional surged in demand and ASPs" following the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to the industry official, Malaysia is producing about 259 billion pieces of gloves per year—roughly about 65 percent of the global demand in 2021.

Global consumption, Shanmugam said, is expected to come in at just under 400 billion pieces in 2022, up 10-12 percent year-on-year.

"Every subsequent epidemic and pandemic continues to push the awareness and usage of rubber gloves as was experienced with the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of monkeypox," said the industry leader.

The U.S., according to Shanmugam, is the biggest consumption market with 75 pairs of gloves used per capita, followed by Europe at 50 pairs used per capita.

China and India, meanwhile, average at about two to three pairs per capita.

The industry expects low per capita countries in Africa to be the new market for growth.