In response to panic buying amid the COVID-19 outbreak in China, the government has placed restrictions on purchasing masks. Many people do not seem to understand why that is, but since my import and export business in continental Europe includes procuring masks and exporting them to Hong Kong, and even Australia and the UK, I know well that in the current situation, it is not possible to import large quantities of masks.
In Germany, there has been no rush of Chinese to buy masks in stores with cash, as in other countries. This is because in Germany, like most parts of Europe, wholesale markets seeking to buy masks in bulk must have an EU VAT number and an Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI). Some manufacturers and distributors also require a local doctor’s license to purchase large volumes of masks.
It took me four months to procure an EU VAT number, and two months to acquire an EORI for my business — it is never as easy as former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) says.
Moreover, I have lived in Germany as an EU citizen since the pre-Brexit era — running a business in Germany as a non-EU citizen is not easy.
Most of the world’s masks are manufactured in China, and now that it is an outbreak, there are no more mask exports — instead China is trying to buy masks from other countries. It is no wonder that there is a shortage.
Many countries have implemented export restrictions on masks, and even use public health legislation to keep the supply for hospitals or centralized distribution by the government.
Therefore, importing masks is not as easy as Chou naively hoped — only those who have no knowledge about the difficulty of doing this kind of business would talk such nonsense.
Hong Kongers are well-known for international trade. In most countries, Hong Kongers have never had a problem procuring goods, but this time they have to acknowledge that products like masks, which involve public health, require their own manufacturing industry. This sentiment is shared by procurement professionals around the world.
For example, the supply of N95 masks (FFP2 in the European system) is not a big problem in Germany, because of the vigor of German industry — the occupational safety standards required by the government are very high, so there is regular demand for masks in a variety of industries.
With this ample supply and demand, there is no way the supply of masks for industrial purposes would ever disappear overnight.
Taiwan must consolidate its own mask manufacturing and turn itself from a net importer to a net exporter. This is the right way to prepare for the endless supply of strange epidemics originating in China — in 2003 there was SARS and this year it is COVID-19 — who knows what monstrous disease it would be next time.
There are too many sons of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nobility who know nothing about the outside world. They put forward many proposals that have no relation to reality. Fortunately, Taiwanese did not return these delusional people to government.
Martin Oei is a Hong Kong-born British political commentator based in Germany.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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