The export of medical gloves made from rubber latex is anticipated to continue its decline this 12 months, as Covid-19 infections ease and some nations impose bans on pure rubber gloves as a end result of allergy issues, in accordance with the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE).
The decline in glove exports has been important since final 12 months, impacting Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, stated Warawan Chitaroon, director-general of the OIE. She advised Thai medical glove manufacturers to adapt to the altering market and search new export alternatives.
The US, a serious marketplace for medical glove exports, has banned the import of products produced from pure rubber latex. Similar bans have also been carried out in components of Europe and the Middle East. In 2021, China, Japan, and South Korea had been Thailand’s major customers, as per the Commerce Ministry.
Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are among the world’s main rubber plantation countries as a outcome of their suitable local weather for rubber bushes. Expert of the pandemic in 2020 led to a surge in demand for medical gloves, with Thailand’s manufacturing capability reaching 60 to 70 billion pieces yearly through the pandemic.
The OIE has noted that rubber merchandise are one of many sectors the place manufacturing has decreased over the previous ten months, along with hard disk drives, plastic beads, metal and iron, garments, and textiles.
“These declines in these industries had been among the factors that brought on a drop in the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) in April,” stated Warawan.
The April MPI fell eight.14% year-on-year to eighty three.5 factors, marking the seventh consecutive decline since October last yr and the lowest in 34 months. Other contributing elements included a slowdown in exports because of decreased buy orders and manufacturing unit closures in the course of the Songkran holidays, reviews Bangkok Post..