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To make a condom you need synthetic rubber and silicone oil.
And that is the problem.
Condom Shortages
To our list of products that depend on the Strait of Hormuz, we can add condoms.
Because of raw material shortages, soaring freight rates, and route disruptions, Karex, the world’s largest condom maker will be raising prices by as much as 30%. The oil-hungry recipe for making one-fifth (5 billion) of the world’s condoms includes ammonia, nitrile, and packaging materials as well as synthetic rubber and silicone oil. Karex’s CEO said that production has to be halted if just one of the 100 intermediate products they use is unavailable. In addition, he worries about the panic buying and hoarding that could exacerbate any condom shortages.
A U.S. Karex subsidiary has already seen its prices rise. The cost of latex, foil wrappers, and the plastics in packaging are up as much as 30%. Meanwhile the 25% increase for condom lubricant sounds low when compared to the whopping 100% price pop for nitrile, a non-latex condom ingredient.
Our Bottom Line: Shipping delays
One reason for higher prices is shipping delays. Explaining, Karex CEO, Goh Miah Kiat, said “We’re seeing a lot more condoms actually sitting on vessels that have not arrived at their destination but are highly required…”
Avoiding the Persian Gulf, the diverted shipping traffic adds 10 to 14 days when it travels around the Cape of Good Hope. By extending travel time, the longer routes diminish container availability and reduce global shipping capacity by 10% to 15%. As a result, we wind up with “vessel bunching” in places like Jeddah. (Saudi Arabia), Salalah (Oman) and Singapore where newly arrived vessels line up for berth and storage space.
And all of this affects our condom supply.
My sources and more: Always interesting, the BBC podcast Unexpected Elements inspired today’s post. From there, I added to our facts though the NY Times and CNN. And finally, we learned more about shipping delays from the Eurasia Review.