COVID-19: World's largest glove manufacturer faces shortage as demand increases

The world's largest glove manufacturer is expecting product shortage as demand from Europe and the United States has risen rapidly. According to reports, Malaysia's Top Glove Corporation Bhd, which makes one in every five gloves globally, has extended shipping time to cope up with the growing demand. Top Glove's Executive Chairman Lim Wee Chai reportedly told the press that some customers are panic ordering, normally they would order 10 containers, now they are ordering 20. 

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Executive Chairman Lim Wee Chai reportedly said that Top Glove can produce 200 million natural and synthetic rubber gloves a day. Customers have reportedly increased their orders by 100 per cent and the company can increase production by only 20 per cent, so there is a shortage of about 50-80 per cent. Lim while talking to the media said that the company is adding new machines every week and could increase its production by as much as 30 per cent.

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According to media reports, Top Glove hired most workers from Nepal and amid lockdown and travel restrictions the company is forced to hire locals to help out in packing. The company is reportedly looking to source 1,000 workers to keep up the production. As the coronavirus has shifted its base from China to Europe and America, demands from those regions are expected to rise even higher in the coming days. The United States on Friday surpassed China to record the most number of infections anywhere in the world, while Italy overtook it in terms of deaths. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 30,800 lives across the world and has infected more than 6,64,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last week before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. 

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