The only latex goods factory in Cuba has not produced sterilized surgical gloves for nine years, according to a report published in the official Granma last Sunday, authored by Yenima Díaz.
The plant, located in Las Tunas and part of the Thaba Business Unit (UEB) of the National Leather Goods Company, achieved its best historical record in 2016: six million pairs of sterilized surgical gloves in a single year.
«Ten years ago, in 2016, our plant set an ascending production record of six million pairs of sterilized surgical gloves. This figure significantly supported healthcare across the country. Today, it is impossible to achieve this,» declared Antonio Elio Nuñez Nojas, head of the factory, to the state media.
A year after that peak, in 2017, the production of surgical gloves was halted and has not resumed.
The production specialist Milaydys García Aguilar explained that the plant lacks essential supplies: potassium oleate, the accelerator ZDBC, and liquid pigments. The original supplier of natural latex was Guatemala, but it stopped supplying Cuba; as an alternative, the island imports the material from an Asian country —which according to World Bank data is India, which sold nearly 30,000 kilograms in 2024 for 55,600 dollars— leading to increased transportation costs and potentially causing the raw material to arrive expired.
"It’s not just about paying a higher price for the product. The associated transportation fees and tariffs are also increasing. Furthermore, by delaying the arrival of raw materials at our ports, some of them may arrive expired or defective," García Aguilar pointed out.
Another critical bottleneck is the sterilizer at the plant, with a capacity of 10 cubic meters, one of the largest in the country. It remains inactive because it operates with ethylene oxide in 34-kilogram bottles that must be imported and are unavailable.
“ If we could use it, it would greatly benefit the public health of the entire country because here we could sterilize gloves and a large quantity of medical equipment. Today we cannot do that,” stated George Cruz Ramayo, director of the UEB Thaba Las Tunas.
In addition to the supply issues, there are also failures in the machinery: the conveyor belt requires nine American-made frequency converters, but only two are operational. There is also a shortage of laboratory equipment—elongometers, peachimeters, and reagents—that ensure the quality of the product.
The auxiliary lines, where household gloves, bee venom collection membranes, and cones for bovine insemination were produced, have also been taken out of service.
In light of this situation, the factory has turned to alternative productions to keep its workforce active. "We are manually producing household gloves, using a timer to ensure that the processes last the appropriate amount of time. They may not be perfect, but they are useful for hygiene, cleaning, and even for hairdressing," explained Nuñez Nojas.
The plant also produces balls made from latex waste for baseball equipment and has set up a leatherworking workshop and a sewing room.
The report from the state media attributes the situation to the U.S. embargo. However, the article does not explain why Guatemala stopped selling latex to Cuba, something that in other sectors has been linked to regime payment issues, nor why closer suppliers such as Brazil or Mexico are not being utilized.
The crisis of this factory is part of a broader deterioration. According to the National Office of Statistics and Information, Cuba's manufacturing industry declined in nearly all its sectors during 2025, and the healthcare sector is experiencing a severe shortage: over 100,000 patients were waiting for surgery in Cuba in 2026, including more than 10,000 children, according to official figures.
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