Condoms on a light table: "People have nothing to do but have sex."
Photo: Oliver Berg/ dpa
Is the pandemic killing people?
In any case, the boss of the condom manufacturer Karex Berhard, Goh Miah Kiat, reports difficulties.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Goh said that sales fell by up to 40 percent at times.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Goh had spread optimism.
People at home, he said, "have nothing else to do but have sex." Times of economic and health insecurity are also associated with falling birth rates: contraception is becoming more important.
At the time, Goh had expected double-digit growth rates.
With 5.5 billion annually, Karex is the world's largest condom manufacturer, and sells to brands such as Durex, among others.
About every fifth condom sold comes from the Malaysian company.
No hotels, no sex work
In addition to the increased psychological stress, which probably spoiled the desire for sex for some people, Goh gave three reasons for the drop in sales.
First, the closure of hotels: Especially in poorer countries, where people share cramped apartments, hotels are central places for intimate encounters.
The second reason is that sex work in brothels or on the streets has come to a partial standstill during the pandemic.
And thirdly, the largest customers in the condom industry suddenly disappeared.
"A lot of condoms are distributed by governments around the world," Goh said.
In Great Britain, for example, the National Health Service (NHS) has partially closed its health programs.
A billion condoms for China
Governments and non-profit organizations buy billions of condoms.
According to reports, China alone distributes around a billion condoms to its population free of charge every year.
The measure is part of China's family planning program.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation from the USA distributed more than 600 million condoms in 37 countries worldwide in 2018.
For 2022, however, Goh expects demand to recover, he told the Reuters press agency.
"We're seeing more orders coming in," says Karex boss Bernhard Goh, many of them from governments restocking.
He also expects profits to increase: customers are buying more and more expensive premium products.
jlk/Reuters