Ban continues on export of sanitary face masks: ministry

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Ban continues on export of sanitary face masks: ministry

By THE NATION

 

Boonyarit Kalayanamit

 

The ban on the export of sanitary face masks remains in place due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, which has caused nationwide shortage, the Ministry of Commerce reiterated.

 

Ministry permanent secretary Boonyarit Kalayanamit said on Friday (March 13): “There are rumours circulating in social media citing an announcement in the Royal Gazette that the Ministry of Commerce has finally allowed the export of sanitary face masks; these are all misunderstandings.

 

“The announcenent on February 4 by the Central Committee for Price of Goods and Services that the export of sanitary face masks is prohibited still has not changed, but the committee will soon update the terms for manufacturers and exporters of specialised face masks unrelated to the prevention or treatment of Covid-19.”

 

Face masks for specialised medical procedures, industrial usage as well as masks that cover the head of the user and copyrighted products that Thai manufacturers were hired to make, will be allowed for export according to the criteria to be announced by the committee soon, he added.

 

“The added criteria will cover the regulations and procedures for manufacturers and exporters to follow in order to apply to make or export masks,” added Boonyarit. “The committee will carefully consider each application with priority placed on domestic needs and available stock.”

 

Boonyarit remarked that the new criteria might have caused the misunderstanding when people saw the phrase ‘apply to export masks’ and jumped to conclusions.

 

“To summarise, the export of sanitary face masks, or the green, disposable ones that people and medical staff use, is still prohibited by the Ministry of Commerce in the current situation,” he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30384003

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-03-13

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[EricTh]

This morning I went to a pharmacy in Chiang Mai and there was a long queue of Thai people waiting to buy surgical masks.

 

Most of the masks at the other shops were all sold out. The situation is causing a panic buying alright.

 

The single layer ordinary cloth mask seems to be useless as it blocks only big dust. Don't buy these.

Edited March 13, 2020 by EricTh

[Thian]

But if you buy facemasks for 1 million baht and export them to China it's all fine??? You can even go to the police if they all start rotting and you want a refund , right?