PETALING JAYA: Hartalega Holdings Bhd
expects to maintain Malaysia’s glove-making price premium over regional rivals, backed by its strong track record, efficiency and technology investments.
Hartalega chief executive officer Kuan Mun Leong explained that while Vietnam and Indonesia, including Chinese manufacturers operating there, remain competitive factors, their significance is still relatively limited.
“The combined exports of Vietnam and Indonesia are projected at around 18 billion pieces in 2026, compared with Malaysia’s total exports of about 120 billion pieces. Both combined represent about 10% of Malaysia’s export volume.
“Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers in Indonesia and Vietnam have around 10 billion pieces of capacity in these markets, and that continues to grow,” Mun Leong highlighted at the firm’s post-AGM press conference.
He also noted that Malaysia remains a preferred sourcing destination, particularly in the United States and non-European markets. According to the group, Hartalega has gained strong market share in the United States, a primary market accounting for 67% of its sales volume.
“Since tariffs on Chinese gloves have reached 100%, the United States continues to source gloves from Malaysia,” Mun Leong highlighted.
“As for the price premium, Malaysian manufacturers have a strong track record, which allows us to command a certain premium over regional players. How long this premium will last, of course, we cannot say,” he added.
Meanwhile, as tariffs support Hartalega’s US position, its 16% sales contribution from Europe provides some diversification should the tariff advantage reverse.
“About one-third of our growth in demand currently comes from the US market, so it is definitely an important market for us, but diversification remains critical.
“Markets such as Europe and Japan remain key target markets,” Hartalega chief business officer Kuan Mun Keng said.
Addressing concerns over oversupply, Mun Leong said the situation was less severe than headline capacity figures suggest, as much of the capacity added during the Covid-19 pandemic never came online.
“At its peak, industry capacity was around 510 billion pieces, compared with demand of about 330 billion pieces today,” he highlighted.
He noted that many new entrants had announced plans to build factories during the pandemic but ultimately did not start production, while some existing manufacturers have since closed facilities.
