South Korea on Wednesday commenced the regulation of the country’s exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, under the measures effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output.

While the country’s daily production of masks reached 11 million units, which doubled days earlier, South Korea still suffers a shortage of the products due to an explosive rise in demand and outbound shipment to other countries.
South Koreans had been forming long queues at local supermarkets to purchase protective masks which had become a brisk business. Some online vendors had even raised the prices sharply, while unilaterally canceling previous orders.

However, as of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had reached 1,261. The country reported its first case, involving a Chinese woman, on Jan. 20.

Two clusters of infections at a branch of a religious sect in the South-Eastern city of Daegu and a hospital in the neighboring county of Cheongdo have continued to expand.

However, to cope with the soaring demand, South Korea would also distribute 50 percent of production to state-run retail platforms, including the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the Small & Medium Business Distribution Centre.

The country will focus on handing out masks to marginalized households and supplying the products to medical staff engaging in quarantine efforts without delay.

In line with efforts to prevent the hoarding of masks, distributors are also obliged to notify authorities if they sell more than 10,000 surgical masks to a single buyer.

According to an official from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, as the public’s safety is the top priority now, the new policy is applied to every mask produced.

“We plan to open a special team that will discuss ways to compensate producers for penalties caused by the breach of their contracts,“ the official said.

The latest policy is based on the country’s price stabilization act which allows the government to make an intervention into the market when the supply or distribution system of certain goods is paralyzed due to disasters.
Violators of the new regulation will face a prison sentence of up to two years or a maximum fine of 50 million won (or US$42,000).

Meanwhile, authorities currently remained vigilant over attempts to smuggle masks out of the country. Earlier, local customs authorities scuttled attempts to illegally ship out about 730,000 face masks.

South Korea said it would start supplying 3.5 million masks to public retail platforms and pharmacies. Each customer would be limited to purchasing five masks.

The country would, however, advise retailers to set prices at a reasonable level.

Meanwhile, local health authorities said people could still use their old disposable protective masks when the supply runs low if not seriously contaminated.

 

NAN