According to Politico.com on April 21: According to Eurostat data, the number of textile masks China imported from the EU in January and February this year was close to the total in 2019. In January, China’s purchases of textile face masks and similar goods (including surgical masks, FFP2 and FFP3 masks) imported from the EU tripled, soaring from 87 tons in the same period last year to 267 tons. In February, China’s imports from the EU increased to 916 tons, a year-on-year increase of 13 times, totaling approximately 56 million euros. China’s imports of surgical and medical protective clothing from the EU have increased significantly, with 81 tons and 748 tons in January and February respectively, and only 24 tons in the whole of 2019.
At the same time, China’s exports of protective masks to the EU are much higher than its imports. In February, China exported 20,475 tons of masks to the EU, 22 times its import volume. The data shows there is no sign that China is imposing an export ban. Although “Global Trade Alert” believes that China has a “de facto export ban” on protective supplies and medical equipment, Eurostat data shows that China’s protective supplies to Europe in February were only slightly lower than the same period last year.
At the end of March, in view of the shortage of supplies in Europe, the EU implemented an export approval system for protective supplies. French President Macron, German Chancellor Merkel and other European leaders called for masks and other The production of important materials is returned to the EU. However, data shows that Europe already has a large production capacity in protective materials such as masks. Before the COVID-19 crisis, most of the products produced in Europe were exported. In fact, the problem is that the global demand for protective materials during the crisis far exceeds the supply. Unless companies urgently expand production capacity, it will be difficult to avoid a shortage.
