A global scarcity of condoms is looming, the world’s biggest producer revealed, after coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut down production.
Malaysia’s Karex Bhd which produces one in every five condoms globally, has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories in the past 10 days due to a lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of the virus.
This according to report, has led to a shortfall of 100 million condoms, normally marketed internationally by brands such as Durex, supplied to state healthcare systems such as Britain’s NHS or distributed by aid programmes such as the UN Population Fund.
“We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary,” Karex Chief Executive Goh Miah Kiat said.
“My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programmes deep down in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months,”
The lockdown is due to remain in place at least until April 14.
“The good thing is that the demand for condoms is still very strong because like it or not, it’s still an essential to have,” Goh added.
The other major condom producing countries are China, where the coronavirus originated and led to widespread factory shutdowns, and India and Thailand, which are experiencing infections spiking for now.
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