Posted on Jan. 11, 2022, 3:37 p.m.
If condoms met, at the start of the pandemic, the same craze as hydroalcoholic gel or toilet paper, the raid on these latex products quickly dried up. The most striking example: the world’s leading manufacturer of condoms reports a drop in the use of its products of around 40% over the past two years.
In question, according to Goh Miah Kiat, CEO of Karex, interviewed by the Japanese daily ” Nikkei Asia “, The confinements which led to the temporary closure of hotels or motels. Places where many couples in developing countries usually meet to find some privacy, outside of generally overcrowded homes. Another explanation: condoms are often distributed free of charge by governments. But they have done much less in the past two years, too busy with their fight against the coronavirus.
Five billion condoms per year
A real snub for Karex, because the “Nikkei” recalls that the company had yet predicted that, in the wake of the confinements, the growth in demand for condoms would be “double digits”. The group produces for brands like Durex, but also its own more sophisticated items, such as a durian-flavored condom, reserved for the Asian market.
Karex produces more than 5 billion condoms per year, or one in five worldwide, and exports them to more than 140 countries. It is now trying to bounce back by entering the booming industry of manufacturing gloves for medical use . And plans to start the first production lines in Thailand by mid-2022.