The coronavirus forced the world's largest condom maker to stop producing - and now there may be a shortage of 100 million condoms

• A mandatory coronavirus lockdown in Malaysia forced the world's largest condom producer to stop manufacturing.
• The World Health Organization considers condoms an essential item.
• The prospect of a condom shortage is frightening to health experts and executives of the company.
• View more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.

Karex Berhad is the world's largest condom producer.

But its CEO is worried about an impending shortage of condoms - 100 million to be exact.

A mandatory coronavirus lockdown in Malaysia forced Karex to temporarily stop making condoms for 10 days - even though the World Health Organization considers it an essential item.

The prospect of a condom shortage is frightening for Karex executives like CEO Goh Miah Kiat.

"While you've got people who are fighting COVID right now, we need to make sure that essential items are continuously being supplied," he told Reuters. "You know, with many hard-hit countries around the world with HIV, AIDS, condom is a necessity."

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