World's biggest glove maker has its hands full

Malaysia's Top Glove, which makes one in five of the world's rubber gloves, says it is overwhelmed by orders amid the coronavirus crisis. David Doyle reports.
The world's biggest manufacturer of gloves is warning it may not able to keep up with demand after a massive spike in orders, mainly from the United States and Europe.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) TOP GLOVE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN LIM WEE CHAI SAYING:

"Some customers panic order"

Malaysia's Top Glove Corporation makes one in five of the world's rubber gloves - up to 200 million a day.

But chief executive Lim Wee Chai says in the past few weeks orders have been nearly double what they can deliver.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) TOP GLOVE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN LIM WEE CHAI SAYING:

"We have limited capacity so we will deliver to them normal plus another 10, 20 percent extra. We cannot give them 100 percent extra, to make sure that every customer has their fair share shipment or allocation."

Lim says the company has extended shipping times and is adding machinery and increasing its workforce as it tries to grow capacity by up to 30%.

Cases are continuing to rise across 202 countries and territories globally, with the United States overtaking China with the most infections.

Europe continues to report the most deaths.

The World Health Organization has warned the "chronic global shortage of personal protective gear" is among the most urgent threats to virus containment efforts.