PETALING JAYA: Although retail prices of medical grade gloves remain stable for now, stakeholders are not ruling out a price increase in the coming months.
However, supply remains sufficient and consumers have no cause for concern at the moment, said Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild president Sarah Abdullah.
She said retail prices for medical grade gloves remain stable as pharmacies continue to utilise existing inventory.
“While we anticipate some price adjustments as the market transitions from 2Q into 3Q, driven largely by supplier-level cost pressures, these have not yet materialised at the consumer level.”
She said clinics and hospitals may feel the price adjustments due to the high consumption of medical grade gloves.
President of Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson said there is no widespread disruption in the supply of medical-grade gloves in Malaysia, and most clinics and healthcare facilities are not facing shortages.
“However, there are emerging upstream concerns.
“The ongoing geopolitical tensions have affected the production and supply of key petrochemical inputs such as butadiene and nitrile, which are essential components in the manufacturing of nitrile gloves. This may lead to increased production costs globally.
He said if the situation persists, healthcare facilities may begin to see gradual price adjustments and tighter supply conditions in the coming months – possibly from mid-May.
Malaysian Pharmacists Society president Amrahi Buang said gloves prices are affected by the shortages and higher costs of nitrile butadiene rubber latex (NBR), due to shipping disruptions as a result of the Middle East conflict.
He said the price increase has already taken place.
“There is an increase due to demand but it is not consistent. It depends on where you get the supply form,” he said.
In March, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) called for temporary relief measures from the government to manage the severe shortage of NBR triggered by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Margma said because NBR is manufactured from petroleum derivatives and it is the primary raw material for nitrile gloves, the crisis has directly impacted both its availability and cost.
