Hand sanitiser and disinfectant manufacturers in Malaysia are finding it hard to obtain enough ethanol to meet a surge in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak, CNA, formerly Channel NewsAsia, reports.

Ethanol prices have risen by up to four times, the marketing manager of local company HanaMedic told the news channel. The firm normally produces 400,000 bottles of sanitiser per year. This February, production has surpassed 395,000 bottles over three weeks.

Ethanol maker Chemical Industries Malaya (CIM) is witnessing a “quite substantial” increase in demand. Its sales in the first week of February alone have surpassed the monthly average for the past few months, the CEO of CIM’s parent company, Hexza Corp, told CNA.

Plastic bottles and accessories like pumps used to dispense hand sanitiser are also hard to procure in Malaysia and other parts of Asia.

Provided by Renewables Now exclusively for Essentica.