Story at a glance
- People across the globe had less sex during the pandemic, according to the world’s largest condom manufacturer, which saw sales fall sharply over the last two years.
- The condom industry had been expecting an increase in sales due to COVID-19 lockdowns and widespread economic uncertainty.
- Sales likely slumped because of hotel and motel closures, Karex chief executive Goh Miah Kiat said.
Condom sales dipped unexpectedly during the pandemic, according to Karex, the world’s largest manufacturer.
Karex, which supplies condoms to brands like Durex and ONE Condoms, said sales fell as much as 40 percent over the last two years, Nikkei reported last week. That runs contrary to what the industry had been expecting, and most companies had forecast an increase in contraceptive sales due to widespread economic uncertainty.
Several industry players also predicted an impending condom shortage, driven by factory shutdowns and global supply chain disruption.
Goh Miah Kiat, the Malaysian contraceptive company’s chief executive, told Nikkei that demand began to slump at the start of the pandemic, when hotels and motels were forced to close. That removed a valuable form of privacy, he said, and also delivered a heavy blow to in-person sex workers.
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Government condom distribution programs were also halted because of the pandemic, he said, as nonessential health clinics were closed temporarily.
“A large portion [of condoms] is distributed by governments around the world, which have reduced [distribution] significantly during COVID-19,” Goh told Nikkei. “For instance, in the United Kingdom, the NHS [National Health Service] shut down most nonessential clinics because of COVID, and sexual wellness clinics which hand out condoms were also closed.”
For its 2020 fiscal year, Karex posted its first full-year loss since going public in 2013, and its share price on the Bursa Malaysia exchange fell nearly 50 percent, according to Insider. On average, Karex produces roughly 5.5 billion condoms annually. Its closest competitor, Thai Nippon Rubber, produces about 2 billion.
Goh told Nikkei that condom sales in recent weeks have started to improve, but the company plans to expand into medical glove manufacturing to mitigate any further losses.
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