Recently the President of the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA), Denis Low, raised an urgent red flag to warn both domestic and international buyers to stay vigilant following the surge in demand to purchase medical gloves.
MARGMA recently received multiple reports from its members which discovered frauds and fake agents claiming to represent their respective companies for the glove supplies. It has been reported that fake company letters were produced to appoint bogus agents while others were prompted by customers as quoted prices soared higher and promised of delivery timeline were cut short.
As global glove demand continues to spike due to the overwhelming Covid-19 pandemic, fraudsters and scammers quickly emerged and are harming both the genuine sellers and buyers in the industry. MARGMA has urged buyers across the globe to stay alert not fall victim to this fraudulent activity.
ALL buyers are encouraged to check the MARGMA website to ascertain the genuineness of any manufacturers that they have been liaising with.
The price of gloves has soared and demand is over-whelming resulting in the industry’s supplies being fully booked until early next year. In such a situation, nobody, other than the bonafide manufacturers can spare supply of gloves at limited quantities. All buyers are advised to be extra careful and not get caught by fraudulent suppliers who are claiming to offer any quantities of glove and at ridiculous prices. If in doubt, please check with the direct manufacturers or MARGMA.
MARGMA assures the world that the industry is doing its best to meet global demand for the supply of medical gloves. The industry players are also working within new operating guidelines and abide by the stringent social compliances as manifested in the Industry Code of Conduct on Social Compliance for good governance of its workforce and the environment.
The majority of MARGMA Members are members of SEDEX, one of the world’s leading ethical trade service providers, working to improve working conditions in global supply chains. In the 1st quarter of 2020, export of gloves amounted to approximately 53 billion pieces. For 2020, MARGMA estimated world consumption to reach 330 billion pieces of gloves and Malaysia is expected to provide about 220 billion pieces. In 2019, Malaysia exported 187 billion pieces out of an estimated world consumption of 296 billion pieces. MARGMA foresee the shortage of gloves due to overwhelming demand this year, to spill into 2021 with the industry continuing to be in an oversold position.
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