PETALING JAYA, 17 March 2020 – The President of the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA), Denis Low reiterated that as the COVID-19 rages across the World and has since then affecting more than a hundred thousand people, it is their duty to further step up productivity to cater to this enormous requirements for protective medical gloves.
COVID-19 has heightened its intensity going by the number of countries being affected and the rising death toll. As Malaysia is the largest manufacturer of rubber medical gloves, supplying almost 65% of the global demand, they shall re-strategise to ensure supply is adequate, at least to those severely affected areas.
In response to the Prime Minister’s announcement on the Movement Control Order to deal with the rise in COVID-19 cases, MARGMA agrees that certain essential services and industry be allowed to operate as they are providing critical products and services such as the Rubber Glove Industry (RGI). The RGI will need to continue to produce medical and surgical gloves which are very essential and critical items in the fight against COVID-19.
In being able to rise up to the occasion and produce sufficient quantities, they are also seeking the Government’s understanding that the service providers and raw materials and packaging suppliers to the Rubber Glove Industry to be allowed to operate too as without the raw materials, chemicals, and packaging materials, freight and logistics services, it would also affect the production of gloves.
While it is a huge challenge for the industry to cope with such high demand in a rather difficult situation, MARGMA stands committed to produce and to assist doctors, healthcare staff and the community in the fight to contain COVID-19.
They expect the World’s demand for natural and synthetic rubber medical gloves to be about 345 billion pieces this year while it was only 298 billion in 2019. Malaysia is looking to export about 65% or about 225 billion pieces or more depending on the spread and duration of COVID-19.
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