TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The price of a key material used for making surgical masks is plummeting in China, while the price of the Taiwan-made material remains strong.

The price of melt-blown fabric manufactured in China has been on a roller-coaster since the coronavirus broke out. The fabric is an essential part of medical masks that filters out bacteria.

Robust demand for the material has pushed up the price in China as companies scramble to churn out face masks, from 18,000 RMB (US$2,542) per ton before the pandemic to a staggering 750,000 RMB at one point, wrote CNA. Nevertheless, the price fell back to 400,000 RMB per ton in May due to oversupply and a series of quality scandals.

Fabric made by Chinese profiteers that jumped on the bandwagon has been found to be flawed because of a lack of expertise and uncertified equipment. This has led to a massive crackdown and tightened regulation, resulting in reduced demand, reported TechNews.

Meanwhile, the overall cost of mask materials produced in Taiwan, including melt-blown fabric, remains at high, hovering around 160 percent higher than the pre-pandemic level thanks to buoyant demand. KNH Enterprise Co. (康那香), a Taiwan-based supplier, makes up to 2.5 tons of melt-blown fabric daily as orders keep flooding in both from domestic and overseas buyers, said CNA.

Taiwanese mask companies have been allowed to resume exports after the government relaxed mask requisition rules this month. China Surgical Dressings Center Co. (CSD, 中衛), a leading Taiwanese surgical mask firm that is running at full capacity, is expected to resume mask exports to Hong Kong by early July.