The world’s largest condom manufacturer, Karex Berhad, has announced plans to sharply increase prices of its products as the ongoing Iran war continues to disrupt global supply chains and drive up production costs.
The Malaysia-based firm, which produces more than five billion condoms annually and supplies major brands including Durex and Trojan, said it intends to raise prices by between 20 and 30 percent, with the possibility of further increases if disruptions persist.
Chief executive Goh Miah Kiat said the company has been forced to pass rising costs onto consumers amid what he described as a fragile operating environment. “The situation is definitely very fragile, prices are expensive… We have no choice but to transfer the costs right now to the customers,” he said.
The price hike comes as the Iran conflict continues to strain key shipping routes and the flow of petrochemical materials used in condom production, including synthetic rubber, nitrile, lubricants and packaging materials. Industry data shows that the cost of some of these inputs has risen by as much as 25 to 30 percent since the war began.
Logistics challenges have further compounded the problem, with shipping delays doubling delivery times to major markets in Europe and the United States, while freight costs have surged. These disruptions have also led to declining stockpiles among distributors, even as global demand for condoms rises sharply.
Karex noted that demand has increased by about 30 percent this year, driven partly by heightened consumer caution during periods of geopolitical uncertainty. The company added that it still has sufficient raw materials in the short term and is working to ramp up production to meet growing needs.
Reuters
