Malaysia's medical glove industry was under pressure to crack down on labour abuses on Thursday after the United States blocked imports from the world's largest manufacturer, with demand for the product surging due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had placed a detention order on imports of products made by subsidiaries of Malaysia's Top Glove, "based on reasonable evidence of forced labour in the manufacturing process".

Top Glove said it was seeking details on the order, which it said may be related to recruitment fees paid by migrant workers to employment agents.

A similar order was imposed on another Malaysian glove maker, WRP Asia Pacific, last year but was lifted in March after remedial action was taken.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation first reported in 2018 that migrant workers at Top Glove were working long hours to pay off debts, some up to 20,000 Malaysian ringgit ($4,700), taken on to pay the agents that secured them their jobs.

Top Glove's share price has risen over 350% this year, boosted by huge global demand for protective gear. But labour rights activists said the industry needed to do more to protect migrant workers and investors had a duty to sell shares in companies that allowed them to be exploited.

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