A Nairobi distributor can sell a pallet of examination gloves in a week to clinics, county hospitals, dental practices and labs, and then spend a month arguing about the next one: a thinner glove, a box of 90 instead of 100, a size run that tears at the cuff. The importers who avoid that write the glove down before they buy it. This guide sets out how examination gloves importers in Kenya choose an exporter in India, what to put on the order, and what to expect between the factory and the warehouse.
Examination gloves are the fastest-moving line most Kenyan medical distributors carry, and the easiest one to lose money on. This guide covers what importers in Nairobi and Mombasa fix before they order from India: latex or nitrile, the specification per line, the papers, and the container.
Most of the examination gloves sold in Kenya are imported, and buyers search for them the way they buy: "examination gloves importers Kenya", "nitrile gloves supplier Kenya", "examination gloves manufacturers in India". The products behind those searches are close to commodities, which is exactly why the specification matters. Two boxes that both say "nitrile, powder-free, size M" can differ in thickness, length, strength and count, and the cheaper one is often cheaper for one of those reasons.
Shortlist examination gloves manufacturers in India and exporters who state the material, thickness, length, AQL and standard for every line, name the factory on the certificates, and send samples from current production. Then compare quotations on the same specification, the same box count and the same delivery terms to Mombasa, and agree the minimum shelf life on arrival before production starts.
| Specification | What the order should say | Example from our range |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Latex or nitrile, and powder-free or lightly powdered | Latex (powder-free or lightly powdered); nitrile (powder-free) |
| Standard | The standard each line is made and tested to | EN 455 parts 1–4; ASTM D3578 (latex) or D6319 (nitrile) |
| AQL | Pinhole acceptance level for the line | AQL 1.5, examination grade |
| Sizes | Size run and the share of each size | XS, S, M, L, XL |
| Length and thickness | Minimum length and palm thickness | Latex: 240 mm minimum, 0.10–0.14 mm palm |
| Packing | Gloves per box and boxes per carton | 100 per dispenser box, 10 boxes per carton |
Weigh ten boxes from the sample and ten from the first shipment before you release them to customers. A glove that has quietly lost thickness weighs less per box long before anyone notices it tearing, and a box that weighs 10 percent less than the sample is a conversation to have with the exporter while the container is still in your warehouse.
Latex examination gloves fit closely and feel thin at the fingertip, which dental and general practice users like, but some staff and patients are allergic to natural rubber latex, and many hospitals now ask for latex-free stock in at least part of the order. Nitrile is latex-free and holds up better against many disinfectants, so labs and hospitals that handle chemicals tend to prefer it. Many Kenyan importers carry both: nitrile as the main line for hospitals and labs, latex for price-sensitive clinic and dental customers.
Whichever you choose, write it per line. "Gloves, medium" on a purchase order invites the exporter to choose for you.
Medical devices in Kenya fall under the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), and some imports also go through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) conformity checks before shipment. Which registration, listing or inspection applies to examination gloves, and in what form, changes over time, so confirm the current requirements with the PPB, KEBS and your clearing agent before you place the first order. The documents that every importer can ask the exporter for are the same either way.
We used to buy gloves on price per carton. Then a customer counted the boxes and found 90 in a box labelled 100. Now the box count, the weight and the size run go on the order, and we check all three when the container is opened.
Sea freight from India's west coast ports, such as Nhava Sheva and Mundra, lands at Mombasa, and most loads then travel to Nairobi by road or on the standard gauge railway. Gloves are light for their volume, so freight is charged mainly on space: a carton count per container and a carton size agreed in advance matter as much as the price per box. Ask your forwarder for current transit times and rates, and add port clearance and inland transit to your stock plan so the next order is placed before the shelf runs empty.
Heat is the other risk. Latex in particular ages faster when it sits in a hot container or a warehouse without shade, so ask for the manufacturing date on each lot, count shelf life from your warehouse rather than from the factory, and turn stock first in, first out.
Glove prices move with latex and nitrile raw material costs and with volume, so request a current quotation rather than relying on a price list, and compare exporters on the same terms: the same specification, the same AQL, the same box count and the same Incoterm to Mombasa. Then compare the landed cost per box in Nairobi, not the price per carton at the factory.
100% synthetic nitrile medical examination gloves — latex-free, powder-free, micro-textured fingertips with superior chemical and puncture resistance for hospitals, clinics, and laboratories. Container consignments dispatched from Port Mundra & Port Nhava Sheva, with certificates and test reports shared with every quotation.
Most imported examination gloves in Kenya come from Asia, with Malaysia, Thailand, China and India the usual origins. Importers who buy from examination gloves manufacturers in India often add gloves to containers of syringes, IV sets and other disposables, which keeps one supplier and one set of papers for the whole order.
Material (latex or nitrile), powder-free or powdered, standard, AQL, size run, minimum length and thickness, gloves per box and boxes per carton, the Incoterm and port, and the minimum shelf life on arrival. Without these, two quotations for "nitrile gloves" are not comparable.
Medical devices in Kenya are regulated by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and some imports also go through Kenya Bureau of Standards conformity checks. Requirements change, so confirm the current registration, listing and inspection rules for examination gloves with the PPB, KEBS and your clearing agent before ordering.
Our minimum for latex or nitrile examination gloves is 100,000 pieces per line, packed 100 per box and 10 boxes per carton, with sizes mixed within the line. Send the sizes and quantities you need and we will confirm what fits a 20-foot or 40-foot container to Mombasa.
Compare the shipment with the approved sample: count gloves in a few boxes, weigh boxes against the sample, check length and the size marking, and do a simple water-fill test on a handful of gloves from different cartons. Keep the samples and the lot certificates together so any complaint can be traced to a lot.
Regulator, registration steps, import duty by HS code and sea freight for the markets in this article.
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