1. The global rubber gloves industry owes its present boom to the spurt in demand for disposable gloves for hand protection generated by the worldwide spread of infectious diseases. While the disease outbreak was not good for human health, it was good for the glove business.
The demand for medical, industrial and household gloves grew as governments imposed new regulations to increase hygiene and healthcare standards and industries promoted clean room technology.
Traditionally, Natural Rubber (NR) latex glove has been the glove of choice for the medical industry due to its low chemical and puncture resistance. Moreover, it is highly biodegradable and can be easily disposed of by incineration.
ALLERGIC REACTION
1. But latex allergy became an important health concern for workers, especially in healthcare environments, in recent years. This rising awareness about latex allergy led to the development of nitrile (synthetic rubber) gloves that carry a very low allergy rate and also have a high chemical and puncture resistance as well as the same level of biohazard protection as latex gloves.
2. As the disposable glove market started to see a shift towards the use of nitrile gloves for hand protection instead of alternative options such as latex or vinyl, most top manufacturers of NR latex gloves switched over partially or fully to nitrile gloves. Many hospitals and clinics altogether stopped the use of natural rubber gloves in view of allergy fears.
3. Consequently, the worldwide sales of NR gloves have been on a steady decline over the last six years and there has been a consistent 10% increase year-on-year towards nitrile gloves, with the latter now holding more than half of the global market.
NITRILE GLOVE MARKET EXPANSION IN 2017
1. Nitrile glove export from Malaysia, the largest producer in the world, is steadily increasing and consequently the share of NR gloves is on the decline. The share of nitrile gloves exports from Malaysia, which stood at 51% in the year 2014, 58% in 2015 and 57% in 2016, rose to 61% in 2017.
2. USA is the biggest market for rubber gloves taking up 33% of global share. The demand for nitrile gloves from the US is on the rise in recent times. The share of US import of nitrile gloves from Malaysia increased from 69% in 2015 to 71% in 2016 and 74% in 2017,
3. The higher demand for nitrile gloves comes mainly from developed countries such as the US, the UK and Western Europe. The demand is driven by factors such as: Ban on powdered latex medical gloves by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hospitals switching to nitrile to minimize allergy caused by latex proteins, and excellent resistance of nitrile gloves to punctures and tears.
4. Nevertheless, NR gloves are still in demand, especially in emerging countries and some European countries, due to their comparatively lower price and eco-friendly characteristics. With demand for NR latex-based gloves still present, the Malaysian companies are continuing to produce them so as not to lose out in certain markets.
POWDER-FREE GLOVES
1. At one time, there was great preference for powdered gloves, either of NR latex or of nitrile origin, which are usually a little bit easier to put on and remove in comparison to powder-free gloves. They also don’t stick to the hand as often as the powder-free variety. But the powdered gloves were found to have many side-effects, including allergic reaction.
2. The FDA banned import of powdered gloves into the country effective from January 18, 2017, citing mounting evidence of such gloves posing serious risks to patients, including airway and wound inflammation, post-surgical adhesions and allergic reactions. Following the FDA ban, many glove companies have turned to production of powder-free gloves.
3. The FDA believes that even those who use non-powdered natural rubber latex gloves run the risk of allergic reaction and has directed glove manufacturers to carry cautionary statements in labelling of their products to alert users to the risk of allergic reactions they may cause.
MALAYSIA MARKET
1. Malaysia presently accounts for 63% of the global supply of rubber gloves followed by Thailand (21%), China (5%) and Indonesia (3%). Malaysia’s top four rubber glove makers – Top Glove, Hartalega, Kossan and Supermax — control around 50% of global supply.
2. The country’s rubber gloves exports hit an all-time high last year, growing at a robust pace of 19.4 % to RM15.9 billion from RM13.3 billion in 2016. At the current rate of expansion, Malaysia’s export of rubber gloves is expected to hit RM 20 billion in value and 65% in market share by 2020, despite rising raw material, natural gas and labour costs. Shut down of vinyl glove factories in China as a move to counter polluting industries is expected to further boost the export growth of rubber gloves from Malaysia.
3. The top 4 Malaysian gloves producers are actively expanding their capacity to meet the growing demand, especially for nitrile gloves. Top Glove, the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer, has targeted to open three factories in Klang by end of 2018 to serve an anticipated increase in global demand between 6 to 8% annually.
4. Kossan’s Plant 16 is expected to operate at full capacity by early July this year. This will raise the Group’s total capacity for rubber glove production by 10% this year, from its current annual capacity of 25 billion pieces.
5. For 2019, Kossan is targeting to further raise its total annual capacity by 16% with the commencement of operations of Plants 17, 18 and 19. Kossan, which prides itself as the first company in the world to produce halal-certified gloves, is targeting to raise its total annual capacity of halal-certified gloves to 3.6 billion pieces by year-end, from 2.4 billion at present.
6. Hartalega, a major player in nitrile gloves, is completing its RM 2.2 billion-Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex (NGC) in Sepang. The facility will comprise six factories installed with 72 production lines that can produce more than 28 billion gloves/year.
7. Supermax, which exports gloves to more than 155 countries worldwide and accounts for 12% of the global requirement for latex examination gloves, expects to increase its glove manufacturing capacity to 45 billion pieces from the current 24 billion pieces. The company has earmarked an estimated RM 2.4 billion on capital expenditure over the next 15 years for its glove and contact lens manufacturing operations.
OUTLOOK
1. At the same time, stringent workers’ safety regulations coupled with strict regulatory standards for maintaining hygiene at the workplace in industries such as food processing are driving the growth of industrial gloves market. The booming medical tourism industry in the Southeast Asian countries is another growth engine for the rubber gloves industry.
2. The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) has projected the global glove demand to grow by 8% to 10% per annum in the coming years. Geographically, APAC region is expected to witness the fastest regional market growth for gloves
3. in the near future owing to expanding healthcare infrastructure in emerging economies such as China and India. The rubber glove industry in India is in a fledgling stage though the country, especially its growing healthcare sector, is a major consumer of gloves. Most glove units in India produce only NR gloves and they have limited production lines which satisfy only a fraction of the internal demand.
NR GLOVES
1. The trend towards nitrile gloves is fast gaining momentum. According to industry forecasts, the global nitrile gloves market is anticipated to witness a compound annual growth rate of 7.12% to cross a total market size of US$ 500 million by 2023.
2. NR gloves continue to have a competitive edge over nitrile gloves in terms of comfort, elasticity, cost-effectiveness, biodegradability etc. The low price of NR prevailing now is an added boon to NR glove manufacturers.
3. It is expected that NR glove will continue to be a strong choice in the medical field in the coming years, even in the context of the exponential growth of the global nitrile glove market. Only aggressive marketing by the NR latex glove lobby and creating greater awareness about the distinct advantages of powder-free NR latex gloves can help the NR latex glove industry protect or expand its present market share.
(Source: rubberasia)
