Price too low, face mask producer says will stop output

The new cap on the price of face masks will only benefit importers, says a local manufacturer.

PETALING JAYA: A local manufacturer has expressed disappointment over the new RM1.50 ceiling price for face masks, saying it will only benefit importers, not domestic producers.

Haminnuddin Hamid, CEO of Ideal Healthcare Sdn Bhd, said local manufacturers were disadvantaged because of higher import duties and costs for raw materials compared to finished products.

He told FMT his company will cease its production of face masks once it has used up all its available materials.

“This is simply because it is difficult to get raw materials from overseas as the price keeps increasing,” he said.

Ideal Healthcare is one of four domestic producers of face masks, which are listed as a price-controlled item. On Feb 7, the then domestic trade minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said manufacturers had been asked to increase production by an extra 400,000 pieces a day.

Haminnuddin had previously told FMT that material costs for the production of face masks had gone up by more than 600%. He had defended the previous ceiling price of RM2 set by the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry.

At a press conference today, defence minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the price of face masks will be capped at RM1.50 apiece from April 1.

The price had been kept at 80 sen prior to the Covid-19 outbreak.

A consumer activist said the new price would prevent traders from taking advantage of the demand and increasing their prices. He urged that face masks be made an essential item. - FMT