(Fighting new crown pneumonia) global mask worries heat up Chinese production capacity is expected

China News Agency, Beijing, March 4 (Reporter Chen Kangliang) As the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic spreads globally, concerns over the shortage of masks have gradually increased, and the World Health Organization has even more openly called for the expansion of mask production capacity.

According to data from the World Health Organization, as of 10:00 am Central European Time (17:00 Beijing time), a total of 10,566 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been diagnosed in 72 countries outside China, with a total of 166 deaths. Compared with the previous day, there were 1792 new cases of new coronary pneumonia outside China and 8 new countries.

As the number of diagnosed patients increases, the problem of mask shortages is becoming more and more of concern. Earlier, WHO Director-General Tedsay has said that the global market has been severely disrupted. The demand for personal protective equipment such as masks is 100 times the normal level, and the price is 20 times the normal level. This shortage is further exacerbated by the widespread and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment.

At the March 3 epidemic media briefing, Tan Desai further stated that the new crown pneumonia epidemic was expanding and there was a shortage of medical masks. The WHO appealed to the industry and governments to increase the production of medical masks. 40%. And it is predicted that the demand for medical masks will increase sharply, and the monthly demand worldwide will reach 89 million.

According to Alibaba's statistics on the 2nd, in the past 30 days, the global buyers ’willingness to buy masks, sanitizing hand sanitizers, thermometers and other products related to the epidemic has increased significantly. Among them, the demand for medical mask buyers increased by 13769%.

Why "solve worry" may only be "capacity." From this perspective, it is inseparable from the Made in China to resolve the global "mask shortage". China is a big mask-producing country, with annual output accounting for about 50% of the world. Before the outbreak, China's largest daily production capacity of masks was more than 20 million. With the spread of this epidemic, the demand for masks has exploded, and the short-term contradiction between supply and demand has intensified.

To this end, Chinese officials and enterprises from all walks of life have made concerted efforts to prioritize the needs of mask companies in terms of labor, capital, logistics, and supply of key raw and auxiliary materials.

China's National Development and Reform Commission released news on March 2 that according to the schedule, on February 29, including ordinary masks, medical masks, medical N95 masks, the daily production capacity of masks in the country reached 110 million, and the daily output reached 116 million, respectively. 5.2 times and 12 times on February 1, further alleviating the contradiction between supply and demand of masks. Among them, the daily production capacity of medical N95 masks reached 1.96 million and 1.66 million, respectively, which effectively addressed the protection needs of frontline medical staff.

Although China's mask output has risen significantly, many analysts point out that the gap is still large. Zhang Yu, chief macro analyst of Huachuang Securities, said that the total employment of China ’s secondary and tertiary industries is 530 million. If they resume work, one person per day will need to supply 530 million masks per day. "Medical staff + transportation industry return to work", also requires 238 million per day.

Minsheng Securities analyst Liu Zhenyu further pointed out that the current global epidemic situation is severe and has impacted the world economy. The World Health Organization recently raised the global risk level of the new crown pneumonia epidemic from "high" to "very high". With the development of overseas epidemics, demand for overseas masks will rise rapidly. After basically meeting China's domestic needs, Chinese masks will be exported overseas to support the global epidemic. Against the backdrop of a large domestic supply and demand gap and the outbreak of overseas demand, China's mask production capacity is expected to continue to climb.

In this regard, Chuan Cai Securities analyst Bai Juntian also held a similar opinion. Bai Juntian said that under the epidemic, masks have become essential items for medical staff and ordinary people to work and travel. As domestic epidemics still exist, overseas epidemics have become more serious in countries such as South Korea, Italy, and Japan, especially considering that overseas confirmed cases have surpassed China for many consecutive days, and the short-term global mask gap is huge. The capacity of China's mask industry needs to be further explored, but the key is to solve the shortage of materials such as meltblown cloth. (Finish)