KUALA LUMPUR: Amid the huge demand for medical rubber gloves due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has lifted its ban on Sepang-based rubber glove maker WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, which it had previously suspected of using forced labour.
Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) president Denis Low said the association welcomed the news, adding that the decision by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service would allow the company to continue exporting rubber gloves to that country.
The CBP had revoked the withhold release order for rubber gloves made by WRP after March 16, allowing the gloves to enter US ports of entry effective March 23.
“We believe that this is the result of a shortage of rubber gloves amid the Covid-19 crisis which is impacting the whole world,” he said.
According to Low, although WRP is a small company producing between eight billion and 10 billion pieces of rubber gloves per year, it could help speed up the initiative by Malaysian rubber glove industry players to provide sufficient rubber gloves globally and locally.
WRP exports about two billion to three billion rubber gloves to the US. The US total demand on a yearly basis is 170 billion pieces, or 32% of total world demand.
Meanwhile, MARGMA today again appealed to the government to allow its members to operate at 100% capacity in ensuring enough supply of medical gloves locally and globally amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Due to the movement control order (MCO) imposed by the government, rubber glove manufacturers and other makers of essential goods are only allowed to operate with up to 50% of their workforce. Today, the government extended the MCO period by two more weeks to April 14.
Low said if not properly addressed, there could be a chronic shortage of medical gloves in the battle to contain and suppress the virus outbreak.
He said Malaysia was using about 120 million pieces per year and this could be easily fulfilled, and MARGMA had given its assurance to the Health Ministry that there would be no shortage domestically. – March 25, 2020, Bernama
