Cheapest Place on earth to have sex

After reading the article, we are sure all of you will agree India is the cheapest place to have safe sex. Read on..

Indian premium condom market is on the edge of collapse credits to a drug pricing order that has set a blanket limit of Rs 6.50 per condom. The manfacturers are not taking this lightly. Almost all the companies that sell premium condoms - TTK Healthcare (Skorecondoms), JK Ansell (KamaSutra condoms), Reckitt Benckiser (Durex condoms, Kohinoor condoms) and Mankind (Manforce condoms) - have challenged the condom pricing order of the National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA).

The impact of this regulation will put tremendous pressure on the industry as the consumer pricing in India is already one-fifth of the global pricing.

A packet of 12 premium condoms costs about $7-9 in the US, $6-8 in Australia and $5-7 in Dubai. In India, premium condoms are priced between Rs 16 and Rs 20 per piece. The priciest, DurexRealFeel, costs about Rs 50 a piece.  Even HLL Lifecare Ltd, the largest public sector condom maker and owner of brands such as Moods condoms and Nirodh condoms, has appealed to the government to reconsider its decision, underlining the need to separate the basic utility condom segment from the value added luxury brands.

It is all right to cap the price of basic segment condoms, but the variants in the premium segment are all about innovation. This development would adversely affect the condom industry, killing product innovation.

Indians use up to 2.4 billion condoms annually. But the size of the commercial market is only around Rs 650-700 crore. Manforce Condoms is the market leader with a 28% share, followed by KamaSutra Condoms, which commands about 18%. Next in the pecking order are Kohinoor condoms and Moods condoms, with 13% and 12% market share, respectively.

Those who like luxury may be forced to switch to economy class. No-frills future await for condom industry. No ribs, no dots, no flavours and definitely no scents, but surely maybe smoked rubber. The Indian market will only offer the rubber with no special features, even to those who are willing to pay for that. What's the future? A black market for smuggled condoms!