Local condom sales jump despite crunch

There’s a lot of money to be made in rubber.

While most businesses continue to feel the pinch of an economic slump, condom manufacturers and suppliers continue to rake in pro-fits from sales of almost 24 million "rubbers" last year.

This was revealed by Benny Llapitan, communications director of DKT Philippines, one of the leading suppliers of latex male contraceptives, or condoms to the uninitiated.

He said sales last year were 24 times greater than 10 years ago, when their brand product — initially treated with indifference by Filipinos — was introduced in the country.

"At the start, our market was very limited, but since it was made available to more people, our sales have shot up," said Llapitan, who was among the guests at a United Nations and AIDS Society-sponsored forum held yesterday at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel.

He said condom sales are expected to hit the 100-million mark in three years.

Llapitan pointed out that in 1993, condoms were only being sold in selected government hospitals and private clinics. Later, condom companies were allowed by the government to sell their products in drugstores, groceries, and even in beerhouses and brothels.

He said information campaigns and advertisements have contributed immensely to boosting sales.

"When we first supplied stores with condoms, the response was ‘why only now?’" Llapitan said.

Joining Llapitan as guests in yesterday’s forum were Dr. Arthur Jaucian, country program advisor of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS; Fr. James Keenan, chairman of the Catholic Theological Coalition on HIV/AIDS; and Ernesto Villalon, head of the Infectious Disease Services of the Department of Health.

The panelists agreed that condoms are now more accepted as a form protection rather than a contraceptive product.