THE sole producer of face masks in the Philippines has committed to provide the country about 2 million pieces per month at a time the government is struggling to find supply from overseas with stocks running out globally.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his agency was able to secure 100,000 pieces of face mask from Medtecs International Corp. Ltd. to be delivered this week. The Bataan-based firm also vowed to supply 400,000 pieces in the following weeks, bringing domestic sale to around 2 million pieces per month.
“Nevertheless, I have personally spoken with the owner of the lone local producer of masks, Medtecs, that is based in Bataan, and they committed to supply the government, through the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry], 100,000 pieces this week and 400,000 pieces per week thereafter,” Lopez told reporters last Sunday night.
“They can commit to supply the Philippines around 2 million pieces per month, until this quantity is needed,” he said. “While they produce on a limited capacity—80,000 pieces per day—Medtecs is now airfreighting more machines to increase their production capacity.”
According to Lopez, Medtecs expressed its commitment to support and prioritize the demand in the Philippines, proof of which was its donation of 500,000 pieces of face mask to victims of the Taal eruption in January distributed through local government units.
Medtecs, operating in the Philippines since 1989, has its factories located in the Freeport Area of Bataan in Mariveles. As with locators in any economic zone, Medtecs is mandated by law to export at least 70 percent of its production to qualify for registration and incentives.
At a daily output of 80,000 pieces, Medtecs has an estimated monthly production of 1.6 million face masks. As such, it remains to be seen how the manufacturer plans to comply with its word to allocate 2 million pieces per month for domestic consumption. At the same time, it’s also a question how it will fulfill its export requirements.
The stocks to be delivered by Medtecs will be utilized for the meantime that the government is scrambling to find supply from abroad.
PITC tapped
Last week, Lopez instructed the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) to canvass
for the importation of 5 million pieces of face mask to beef up stockpile locally.
However, India, Pakistan, the United States and Europe indicated limited stocks, while Thailand and Vietnam have yet to send their feedback, the trade chief disclosed.
As of Saturday, information gathered by the PITC showed that suppliers from overseas are also running low in terms of stocks of face mask due to the surge in global demand, Lopez said. As an alternative, the government is in talks with manufacturers who can extend their operations to the production of face masks.
“We have also intensified engagements to match parties with core capabilities that can extend to production of masks—including foreign companies in the country that have the technology, local companies that can readily provide factories and workers, and local producers in garments and sanitary paper, or cotton-based products,” Lopez said.
The novel coronavirus first detected in Wuhan, China, has spread throughout many parts of the world, including in Southeast Asia, where there are now 19 cases in Thailand, 18 in Singapore, eight in Malaysia, six in Vietnam and one in Cambodia. Demand for face masks, which should be worn by persons with respiratory symptoms and health workers, in turn spiked.
The Philippines has two confirmed cases—both Chinese nationals who traveled to Manila—of the coronavirus—one is dead, the first outside of China, the other is recovering.
To prevent the further spread of the respiratory illness, President Duterte last Sunday imposed a blanket ban on foreigners from China, Hong Kong and Macau. Only Filipino citizens, as well as those holding permanent resident visa issued by the government, may enter the country, but are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
There are at least 17,389 confirmed cases and 362 recorded deaths—all but one in China—from the novel coronavirus as of Monday afternoon.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes