The trade situation of medical latex gloves is complex

In the past two years, the world economy has shown a sluggish and oscillating trend. High unemployment rates and unsatisfactory economic growth in developed economies; However, emerging economies are facing many problems such as inflationary pressures and slowing economic growth; The European sovereign debt crisis has occasionally stirred up new waves, causing severe fluctuations in financial markets and bringing uncertainty to the world economic recovery - a series of factors that have also affected the global medical latex glove market. In recent years, China has lost its leading position in the global medical latex glove market, with the production center of medical latex gloves shifting to Malaysia. However, China remains a major producer and exporter. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the global medical latex glove industry pattern, the foreign trade situation in 2014, and the impact of new technology products on the inherent product field. The data is detailed, and it is hoped that it will be helpful to relevant enterprises.

In the latex product industry, the latex glove industry holds an important position. Latex gloves are made of natural rubber processing. Latex gloves used by medical and health institutions are mainly divided into two types: latex inspection gloves and latex surgical gloves (Chinese customs codes are "HS401519 vulcanized rubber gloves made of other materials" and "HS401511 vulcanized rubber surgical gloves", respectively); Hereinafter referred to as surgical gloves and examination gloves respectively.

In recent years, the global market for medical latex gloves has been complex and ever-changing. In 2014, many major importing countries of medical latex gloves experienced a decrease in the import of surgical gloves and examination gloves. At present, China's medical latex glove manufacturing industry is facing various challenges such as raw material procurement, labor costs, market development, and demand changes.

Latex glove import demand declines

In 2014, many major importing countries of medical latex gloves, such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, saw a decrease in the import value of surgical gloves and examination gloves. The top ten surgical glove imports globally and regions imported a total of 1.709 billion US dollars worth of surgical gloves, accounting for 76.08% of the total. Among them, only the United States, Türkiye and the Netherlands achieved an increase in imports, while the rest decreased. Among regions with an annual import value exceeding 100 million US dollars, the European Union ranks first, with a related import value of 539 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 8.23%, but still accounting for 23.98% of the global surgical glove import market; The import value related to the United States was 353 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 11.38%, accounting for 15.71%; The import value related to Germany was 337 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 6.68%, accounting for 15%.

In recent years, the trade of surgical gloves has been affected by various factors, not only the prolonged global economic downturn and currency market exchange rate fluctuations. With the improvement of medical level, especially the increase of minimally invasive surgery, the surgical methods have undergone fundamental changes, which has also led to a decrease in the demand for surgical gloves. Moreover, the further improvement of gloves made from chemical products (such as PVC gloves) has also had a certain impact on the traditional latex glove market. However, due to the shortcomings in strength and comfort of medical PVC gloves, they cannot replace latex gloves.

In 2014, the total import value of inspection gloves worldwide was 5.68 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.06%. The top 10 import markets are the United States, the European Union, Japan, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, France, and Russia, with a total import value of 4.192 billion US dollars, accounting for 73.80% of the total market concentration. Among them, only the EU, Japan, and Russia regions achieved import growth, while the rest experienced a decrease.

The United States is a major importer of inspection gloves, with a related import value of 1.688 billion US dollars in 2014, a year-on-year decrease of 3.77%, accounting for 29.70% of the global inspection glove import market; The EU is the second largest import market, with a corresponding import value of 984 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7.45%, accounting for 17.33%; Japan is the third largest importer, with a corresponding import value of 325 million US dollars, an increase of 2.77% year-on-year, accounting for 5.72%.