THE price of face masks may be revised downwards to 80 sen apiece and the protective item could be given free to the poor as there is more than enough supply in the market, said a leading manufacturer.

Ideal Healthcare Sdn Bhd managing director Haminuddin Abd Hamid said the export ban on the item, introduced to ensure domestic demand was met, should also be lifted.

He told The Malaysian Insight that local manufacturers have in recent months expanded production, and that, combined with imports, has resulted in a surplus.

Ideal Healthcare, which previously made a million masks a month, now produces three million.

Haminuddin said there is an excessive supply of masks in the country, to a point that they can be handed out for free to B40 households.

“There is also no disruption in the supply of raw materials, which are sourced from Europe and the US.

“In addition, there are also imported face masks, which complement local production.

“The inventory in the warehouse is sufficient to meet market demand.”

He said there is room for the government to further lower the ceiling price from RM1.20 to 80 sen apiece, and this will not impact manufacturers’ bottom line as demand remains high.

At the same time, he urged people to be wary when purchasing masks online as they could be cheap, but lacking in quality.

“Locally produced face masks would be much safer than imports” is his advice.

Many are taking advantage of the demand for masks to sell low-quality stock imported cheap from abroad, and some of these could be rejected stock, he warned. 

Imported masks are exempt from duties. – July 26, 2020.