Malaysian company Top Glove Corporation Bhd, which produces every fifth pair of safety gloves in the world, warned that the market will face a shortage of this product as demand in Europe and the US grows at an extremely fast pace due to the accelerating spread of the coronavirus.

The company has extended delivery times to cope with increased demand, said the company chairman Lim Wee Chai in a phone call. He said the orders received in recent weeks, mainly from Europe and the US, are almost double the company’s production capacity. Top Glove Corporation Bhd can produce 200 million natural and synthetic rubber gloves per day.

There are already more than 600,000 cases of coronavirus infection in 202 countries and territories worldwide, with the United States ahead of China as the country with the most infections. Europe continues to account for the highest number of deaths.

“Some customers panic. They usually order 10 containers a month, but now (orders) suddenly increase to 20 containers”, said Lim Wee Chai.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that the “chronic global shortage of personal protective equipment” is among the most current threats in the fight against the virus.

“There is definitely a shortage. They order 100% more, we can only increase by 20% (production), so there will be a shortfall of about 50% to 80%”, added Lim Wee Chai.

The strong push to buy protective gloves may continue for another three months, but orders are expected to remain strong until the end of the next nine months, even as demand from Asian markets begins to slow slightly, said Lim Wee Chai.

To cope, the company adjusts its delivery time from at least 30 days to 150 days.

Lim said the company guarantees that all its customers receive a fair share of the extra gloves delivered. According to him, the company adds new machines every week so it can respond at least partially to production.

This month Top Glove Corporation Bhd increased its factory output by 10% to 95% and expects to reach its limit in April.

The company is in a hurry to bring in about 1,000 workers to keep up with demand. Top Glove Corporation Bhd usually hires people from Nepal, but now trains workers in Malaysia because of travel restrictions.