Thai rubber glove makers target 20% share of global market
Thailand’s rubber glove industry is aiming to expand its slice of the global market from 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the next five years.
To meet that target, the Thai Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (TRGMA) is pushing for increased investment and improved overall competitiveness in the industry.
Association president Veerasith Sinchareonkul said the long-term aim was to grab a 40-per-cent share of the world market.
The move follows a 20-per-cent jump in global demand for rubber gloves to 3.6 million amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Demand is expected to rise by another 10 per cent next year.
Veerasith urged the government to provide more financial support to help manufacturers expand investment. It should also streamline regulations to ease the launch of new factories, he added.
Thailand is the world's second largest exporter of rubber gloves, driven by 19 manufacturers with combined production capacity of 46 billion per year. Of that total, 90 per cent is exported. Medical rubber gloves account for 88 per cent of total production.
"We want to see Thailand become the world's production hub of natural-rubber gloves," he said.
China and Malaysia, the world's major rubber glove makers, have already expanded their production capacity, he added.
