Coronavirus effect: demand for sanitizers & masks shoots

Recent data shared by All Food and Drug License Holders Foundation (AFDLHF) reveals that the total market for masks has jumped up from about INR 200 crore annually to INR 450 crore over the last two months. It is being estimated that India currently has capacity to make 300,000-400,000 masks with 2.5-3 million in stocks now.

“We are experiencing a surge in demand for our protective face masks in India, North America, Europe and China. We are increasing production at multiple facilities globally to address the growing demand,” said a representative of Honeywell, a prominent pharmacy firm that has successfully established its presence in India, the US and Europe.

The masks that are proving to be most effective are Vogmask and the O2 Curve mask that have a viral filtration efficiency that exceeds 99.99%. Within the country, the demand for products that assist in health and general hygiene are seeing a surge from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Kolkata. At the same time, export demand for 3 ply face masks has augmented from countries like China and Thailand.