Morocco Reports Ample Supply of Medical Masks Amid Global Coronavirus Demand

Sales of medical masks are exploding worldwide due to the coronavirus epidemic raging in many countries. While some are facing a shortage of masks, this is not the case in Morocco, says L’Économiste.

"For the moment, there is a lot of speculation. Our colleagues are receiving more and more requests from intermediaries who are not even specialized in the marketing of medical devices. They are sometimes willing to buy all available quantities for export," says Anouar Yadini, president of the Moroccan Association of Medical Device Professionals (AMPDM).

Morocco has two mask manufacturing plants and a unit under the gendarmerie. According to Hassan Ziyat, manager at Pharcomedic, mask production varies between 15 and 20% locally; the rest is exclusively imported from China.

With the shutdown of the main Chinese manufacturing unit for the past two weeks, local distributors are turning to local production. As a result, Pharcomedic, sized to produce 15 million units per year, is achieving high sales.