Poor quality masks from Mainland China flood Hong Kong as overseas manufactured goods. Mainland China manufacturer: You can print anything on the box
BeWater(10 Apr) Many countries banned the export of masks last month. The Korean KF-94 and made-in-Japan masks Hongkongers have been fighting for are becoming scarce. On the contrary, since the export of masks resumed in Mainland China in the same month, Hong Kong local media Apple Daily inspected pharmacies in different districts and found large number of masks claiming to be imported from America, Japan and Indonesia etc. The supply of these masks appeared to be stable. However, the origin labels on these masks were unclear, and the pharmacy staffs revealed that they were all made in China. The journalist randomly selected 5 boxes at the pharmacy, and after testing, 4 boxes were found to have varying qualities and are unsuitable for use in crowded space and public transport. An agent admitted that the boxes were deliberately printed with Japanese to “let people have the misconception (that they are made in Japan)”, but in fact, the masks were collected from China through distributors.
China is the “global mask factory”, and since COVID-19 hits Europe and America last month, there has been a surge in the number of mask factories in Mainland China. According to statistics from the Mainland China, as of 22 March, there are about 52,000 mask factories nationwide, which recorded a sharp increase of 6,000 compared to February, and a 16-fold increase over the same period last year, of which over 17,000 have import and export businesses and were competing to export masks for profit. However, the mask qualities have been repeatedly criticized by the international communities for being substandard and useless in combating the virus. The Netherlands and Australia have returned 600,000 and 800,000 masks from China respectively. The situation raises concerns on the quality of masks made in China.
“It (the factory) said they have a lot of different styles of boxes to choose from. For example, some are written in Japanese, and some in Indonesian. Upon hearing this, I don’t dare to buy their masks.” said Eunice, who used to purchase masks from Brazil. Since Brazil banned mask export last month, Eunice contacted around 20 Chinese mask factories through trading companies. She cited that some manufacturers provided certificates, but they allow buyers to choose their own boxes before shipment. This discouraged her. “If you can print anything on the box, it (the information) won’t be originated from the actual manufacturer,” she said.
Eunice explained that certified masks purchased from Brazil would be shipped in the original box, and buyers would never be allowed to choose the packaging. Another businessman told Apple Daily that China had been banning mask exports to Hong Kong since the anti-extradition protests last year, but the ban was suddenly lifted last month, resulting in an influx of Chinese masks with varying qualities. Poor quality masks from China are in the market, and even the Hong Kong Government was deceived when purchasing masks. The Wong Tai Sin District Council purchased over HK$400,000 worth of masks through the Home Affairs Department at the end of January, and the delivery was delayed till end of March. However, upon inspection by District Councillors, it was found that 10% of the purchased masks were of poor quality. “The nose wires were exposed and ear loops were broken. There were stains on the masks, and even dead insects”.District Councillors Chan Chun-Yue and Sham Yu-Hin later questioned the Home Affairs Department, who pointed out that the masks were made in China, and would ask the procurement agent about it. The District Councillors were told to keep the faulty masks for replacement.
Recently, the media have reported the stable supply of masks in Hong Kong, but in fact, the supply is dominated by made-in-China masks faking as foreign goods. Apple Daily inspected pharmacies in Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan and Mong Kok, and found that despite the global ban of mask export, the supplies were adequate.
The “sold out” signs were no longer seen. Instead, large numbers of masks claimed to be imported from America, Japan and Vietnam. Only a few stated that they were made in China, while the rest are vaguely marked. For example, “Tokyo Japan” was written in the fine print to try to specify as a Japanese product. The pharmacy staffs even confessed that the manufacturer deliberately hid the country of origin to prevent the masks from sluggish sales, “Hong Kong is against China, so many (manufacturers) don’t write it on the box”.
In the pharmacy, one of the boxes printed with Japanese characters have the words “MADE IN PRC” on it. The journalist pretended not to know and asked the staff about the country of origin, and the staff pointed at the box and said “It’s from Japan!”. But after the journalist pointed out that PRC is China, the staff asked “Oh is it? They said it’s imported from Japan. Oh don’t mind it.” His information was rather sloppy.
Dr. K. Kwong, a chemist, inspected five types of masks purchased by Apple Daily. The masks were examined by visual, touch and laser. Four of the five were found to be defective to have e.g. significant holes and also fail the laser test, which made them unsuitable for use in crowded places such as hospitals, public transport, etc.
Based on the information on the boxes, Apple Daily contacted two agents. A man in charge, Mr. Leung (alias), confessed that the boxes were deliberately printed with Japanese characters as a "common business practice" and “to let people have the misconception(that they are Japanese goods)”. Knowing that there are problems with the quality, he stressed that he tried his best to test the masks even with water and fire, referenced Dr. Kwong’s online teaching methods. “Basically I did everything I could, except for getting them professionally tested.”
He said, “There’s no quality control in the (Mainland Chinese) factories. We’ve been picking out those without nose wire etc. We made sure everything looks fine before selling to our customers.” He explained that the company had been buying masks from reputable Mainland Chinese factories before the outbreak. However, after the outbreak, the supply was tight and it was no longer possible to purchase from the same factory, so he relied on other traders or distributors. He only knows that the masks were made in China, but it’s difficult to find out who the real manufacturers are. “We don’t have those certificates”,he said.
Leung revealed that the industry knows about the varying quality of masks. “Frankly, all current export masks are abnormal. They’re all shady”. ‘Shady’ as in they don’t have any export certificates, he explained. “I’m telling you there’s no quality control. They just get packed in a bag after production. Just like that.” He also said, “I’m not selling them now, I’ll see what I could do after the outbreak.”
Another agent confessed that he has only ordered and started selling masks because of the pandemic, and has requested the Mainland Chinese factories to provide inspection certificates and business license beforehand. “(The tests) are done according to standards of Mainland China”. According to the Mainland Chinese manufacturer’s test report, it claimed that the masks have passed the BFE (bacterial filtration efficiency) test. As to why the melt blown filter of some masks were tested to be of poor quality, the agent explained, “we could only trust the report, and will now reflect this situation to the manufacturer”. For the rest of the masks, no further information is available, as the agencies contact information were not written on the boxes.
Source: Apple Daily