TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has seen soaring demand for its surgical masks as the coronavirus virus rages despite the fact that the export ban on the protective gear has not been lifted.
Many countries have turned to Taiwan for medical supplies following complaints of defective masks and testing kits imported from China. The Taiwan Trade Center in Vancouver received requests to purchase 10 million surgical masks from Taiwanese manufacturers after Canada reported that 8 million Chinese N95 respirators were found to be substandard, wrote Liberty Times.
According to the trade office, the North American country has expressed an interest in Taiwan’s face masks and gloves, but orders of masks will not be processed until export restrictions are lifted. The ban, imposed in January, has been extended until the end of June.
Officials revealed that the authorities have been inundated with inquiries about surgical mask procurement, but such medical supplies are shipped to countries worldwide through medical aid, not by commercial sale, according to Liberty Times. Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) has said the decision to end the ban is in the hands of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), wrote UDN.
Taiwan has continued to ramp up its mask production capacity, with 17.5 million units being churned out daily. Countries, including the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Turkey, Spain, the UK, Belgium, and Germany, have complained about faulty medical products from China, as the country aggressively engaged in “mask diplomacy” after it emerged from the Wuhan virus crisis.