Production of face masks in China has surged as the Chinese government continues efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on 2 March that it was pushing for face mask manufacturing enterprises to resume work, as well as guiding support for enterprises to expand production.
These efforts have already led to rapid growth in China’s face mask production capacity, with the daily production quota breaching 100 million units.
State media says that these efforts are currently being hampered by materials shortages however, which have led to a sharp, five-fold rise in the price of non-woven textiles.
As a consequence leading Chinese enterprises from other sectors of the economy have also commenced the manufacture of face masks and related materials at Beijing’s behest.
More than 3,000 enterprises in China are currently participating in face mask production, including automaker BYD, electronics manufacturer Foxconn and energy giant Sinopec, which has launched 10 non-woven textile production lines.
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