"Received Sample"... Korea, Good News Soon on Importing Chinese Masks

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is conducting a mask donation campaign in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 25th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] South Korea is expected to sequentially receive 5 million masks exported from China in the near future. As China has expressed its intention to actively participate in the global supply of medical materials, it is reported that the mask export-import contract between South Korea and China is in the stage of negotiation progress.

On the 30th, a diplomatic source in Beijing said, "The Chinese government has decided to export 5 million masks to South Korea, and related negotiations between South Korea and China are ongoing," adding, "4.2 million medical masks and 800,000 N95 masks are scheduled to enter South Korea. China has already sent samples to South Korea, and South Korea is proceeding with the related contract while comparing quality and price." He added, "There will soon be good news regarding the contract signing."

Not only the 5 million masks but also Chinese-made mask production equipment is being imported sequentially.

Currently, South Korea has signed a contract to import 62 units of mask production equipment from China, and it has been confirmed that the equipment has been arriving in South Korea since last week. The source said, "We have received two units of equipment, and from March to May, equipment will continue to arrive sequentially," explaining, "As China can now produce more than 100 million masks per day, there seems to be some leeway in managing masks and production equipment that were previously prioritized for domestic use. Regarding quarantine supplies, management is gradually loosening from less critical items, and the atmosphere is becoming favorable for exports overseas."

However, the melt-blown (MB) filter, an essential raw material for mask production, is reported to be too expensive in the Chinese domestic market regardless of China's export restrictions, making it difficult for South Korea to import.

The source said, "The price of MB filters sold in China is set at 300,000 yuan per ton, which is much higher than the international market price," adding, "Currently, the price is not suitable for South Korea to import filters. Fortunately, South Korea has recently imported 53 tons of filters from two countries, and Toray Advanced Materials is also increasing its filter production, so the situation is somewhat improving."

Meanwhile, China has recently faced difficulties due to quality issues with medical supplies it has supported or exported to countries worldwide. The Dutch health authorities recently recalled 600,000 FFP2 (N95) masks imported from China last weekend, citing failure to meet quality standards, and earlier, defective diagnostic kits issues arose in Spain and Turkey. The source said, "So far, there have been no reported quality issues with Chinese-made medical supplies received by South Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.