Results of the International Latex conference are in…
By Betsy on Jul 28, 2008 in Guayule News, Rubber and Latex Prices, medical devices
An attendee and participant in the 11th annual international latex conference recently gave me the update on what was discussed and the key messages from the conference. Here they are:
- Manufacturers, medical institutions, shippers, and the end-user are all suffering from the rising costs and reduced availability of raw materials. Speculators have now found rubber so are having the same undesirable affect as they have had on petroleum.
- An economist from the International Rubber Study Group indicated a serious but temporary shortfall in rubber and latex supplies will start in 2010. During this time, prices will rise even further.
- On average, the EU and USA use approximately 100 gloves per person per year.
- Attendees were excited about guayule latex and manufacturing gloves in the U.S.
2 Comment(s)
By BB1220 on Jul 28, 2008 | Reply
Supply and demand principles appear to be working as they should to create new opportunity for exciting developments like guayule latex, being developed in the USA with American ingenuity at that. Apart from the positive economic impact from development of a whole new industry, the societal benefit of guaylue latex and its applications is enormous. Way cool!
By Julie Wright on Aug 24, 2008 | Reply
100 gloves per person per year in the US and EU! That’s pretty staggering. That’s a lot of rubber and latex! Hope that most are from renewable sources…