The world’s largest producer of condoms, Malaysian company Karex, says the use of its products has fallen by 40 percent since the corona pandemic.
The company is trying to make up for that with other products. For example, it will also make medical gloves, writes the Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
Karex CEO Goh Miah Kiat sees the closure of hotels and the sex industry during the pandemic as the reason for declining condom use. In addition, several governments have stopped campaigns to distribute condoms.
Karex makes one-fifth of all condoms in the world. Initially, the company thought that condom sales would rise sharply due to the lockdowns. Instead, Karex makes condoms for brands such as Durex and distributes its own products. It makes 5 billion condoms a year and exports them to more than 140 countries.
The shares of Karex have fallen in value by 18 percent in the past two years. In addition, in the fiscal year ending in June, the company reported red numbers for the first time since its IPO in 2013.
The sale of other products is going well. Karex also supplies products for medical use and will now also focus on the medical gloves market. It plans to start production in Thailand halfway through this year.