Low inventory, soft holiday production dent China's mask supply: associations

BEIJING - The temporary shortage of masks in China amid the novel coronavirus outbreak is the result of limited inventory under mild demand and softened production during the Spring Festival holidays, associations said.

Stores like pharmacies don't usually keep a bulk inventory of masks because they are hardly a daily necessity for most consumers, a situation worsened by the halved output during the Spring Festival period, causing masks to be snapped up under sky-high demand, said the China Consumers Association and the China Textile Commerce Association.

China has made efforts to support production resumption by enterprises to improve production capacity and increase the supply of masks, while customs across the country are fast-tracking clearance for epidemic control materials from overseas.

As of Monday, daily production of masks exceeded 14.8 million from factories in 22 provincial-level regions, up 3.1 percent from the previous day, official data showed.

The two associations advised consumers that ordinary medical masks could provide enough protection under most circumstances, noting higher grade medical masks are for medical professionals.