KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Bernama) — The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) expects export of rubber products to reach RM15 billion this year, exceeding 2013’s figure of RM14.6 billion.
Its president Lim Kwee Shyan said in the first quarter of 2014, sales registered RM4 billion, of which 75 per cent was derived from rubber gloves.
“We anticipate rubber gloves turnover to reach RM12 billion in 2014, surpassing last year’s figure of RM10.5 billion and that for 2012 of RM8 billion,” he told a press conference here Wednesday.
Earlier, MARGMA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council (MREPC) and nine key sponsors for the Seventh International Rubber Glove Conference and Exhibition (IRGCE).
The sponsors are Excelkos, Hartalega, Kossan, Latexx Partners, Smart Glove, Supermax, Top Glove, WRP and YTY.
Malaysia will once again host the bi-yearly event themed,”Beyond Just Infection Control” from Sept 2 to 4.
“We anticipate this year’s event to be the largest ever, drawing over 500 participants and 3,000 trade visitors from among the 185 countries Malaysian manufacturers export gloves to,” Lim said.
The exhibition will have 230 booths and conferences that will see key international and regulatory bodies from the United States, Japan, China and Malaysia deliver technical papers on standards and specifications, quality assurance and regulations on medical devices and protective gloves.
Lim said the global demand for rubber gloves is estimated to increase eight per cent to 178.6 billion pieces in 2014, buoyed by rising world healthcare spending expected at RM9 trillion by 2015.
He said Malaysia is expected to continue its dominance with a 63 per cent global market share and exporting 112.5 billion pieces of rubber gloves worldwide this year.
MARGMA succeeded in bridging the gap amongst industry players by fortifying a greater exchange of ideas when it organised the inaugural International Rubber Glove Conference and Exhibition in 2002.
— BERNAMA