Karex Bhd, world’s largest producer of condoms has warned that the coronavirus pandemic may lead to a global shortage of condoms.
The company added supply has fallen by almost 50% while its stockpile is set to last for just another two months.
The Malaysia based company revealed it has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories for more than a week.
This is due to a lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of Covid-19 virus, Bloomberg has reported.
The company said condoms, world most widely used contraceptives, are mainly made in China and India, which are both heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Goh Miah Kiat, group chief executive officer at Karex stated that;
Demand is growing at double digits as governments around the world issue stay-at-home notices and many couples abstain from having children due to the uncertain future.
Karex produces for brands like Durex as well as its own line of specialty condoms such as Durian-flavored ones.
It produces out more than 5 billion condoms a year and exports them to more than 140 countries.
However, that has become more challenging as different governments shut borders and airlines cancel flights.
The other major condom-producing countries are China, where the coronavirus originated and led to widespread factory shutdowns, and India and Thailand, which are seeing infections spiking now.
Kiat added that;
It will take time to jumpstart factories and we will struggle to keep up with demand at half capacity. We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary.
The chief executive officer explained that;
My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programs deep down in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months.
Kiat stated demand is growing at “double digits” as governments around the world issue stay-at-home notices and many people abstain from having children due to the uncertain future.
He warned of a possible price hike in the purchase of condoms, explaining that;
We are still paying all our worker’s full salaries but workers only come in half the time so generally, there will be a cost increase.
Malaysia is one of the hardest-hit countries in southeast Asia. As of Monday morning, more than 2,400 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, with 35 deaths.
The lockdown in the country is due to remain in place at least until April 14.
