Hartalega expects ‘sharp drop’ in rubber glove prices 

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian gloves manufacturer Hartalega Holdings Bhd expects average selling prices (ASPs) for rubber gloves to fall sharply in the coming months and to ‘normalise’ within the first quarter of 2022, according to company officials.

In a 7 Sept virtual annual general meeting, the rubber gloves manufacturer noted a 30% decline in prices since the end of its first quarter on 30 June, adding that short term demand is expected to soften as “customers are managing high priced inventories from first half of 2021.”

Furthermore, customers from developed markets are “behaving very carefully” in purchases in view of declining selling prices, the company noted.

Another factor pressuring the prices is the increase in supply from major players in Malaysia, Thailand and China.

As a result, Hartalega said it expected a “sharp drop” in ASP in the coming months from June-quarter’s peak.

By 2022, the gloves maker went on to say, the ASPs for gloves are expected to "normalise" from the recent peak as "panic buying has dissipated from the market."

The price impact of the decline, Hartalega expects, is to be partially offset by a decrease in raw material costs.

In addition, Hartalega said it would continue to focus on cost discipline and implementing efficiency improvement and automation projects to mitigate the impact of lower prices on margins.