Condom Prices Set to Rise by Up to 30% as Iran War Disrupts Global Supply
The world’s largest condom manufacturer, Karex, has warned that consumers will soon face price hikes of 20% to 30% as the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran continues to cripple global shipping and raw material supplies.
Karex, a Malaysia-based industry giant that produces over five billion condoms annually for major brands like Durex and Trojan, as well as public health providers like the UK's NHS, says that the "fragile" geopolitical landscape has made manufacturing significantly more expensive.
The issues in manufacturing stem from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which a massive portion of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas flows. As the war has disrupted energy and petrochemical markets, the cost of materials essential for condom production including synthetic rubber, nitrile, aluminium foil, and silicone oil has soared.
Karex CEO Goh Miah Kiat explained that the company is effectively out of options. “The situation is definitely very fragile, prices are expensive,” Goh told media outlets this week. “We have no choice but to transfer the costs right now to the customers.”
Beyond the cost of raw materials, freight expenses have skyrocketed, and shipping times for goods bound for Europe and the United States have doubled from one month to approximately two.
“We’re seeing a lot more condoms actually sitting on vessels that have not arrived at their destination but are highly required,” Goh added, saying that this delay is leaving many regions, particularly developing nations, with dangerously low stockpiles.
While supply chains struggle, the demand for contraceptives has simultaneously jumped by roughly 30% this year. Goh attributes this surge to the widespread economic and personal anxiety caused by the conflict.
“In bad times, the need to use condoms is even more because you're uncertain with your future, whether you'd still have a job next year,” he said, adding: “If you have a baby right now, you'll have one more mouth to feed.”
As the US-Israel war with Iran continues, industries ranging from bottled water to electronics are bracing for further volatility. For now, Karex says it has enough supplies to sustain production for the coming months, but it cannot rule out further price adjustments if the conflict and trade blockades continue to drag on.
