COVID-19: Morocco exported nearly 18.5 million facemasks to 11 countries around the world

About 18.5 million facemasks have been exported by 69 Moroccan factories to 11 countries in the four continents, announced on Tuesday the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

These certified masks, which have become a hot commodity during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, were exported between May 21 and June 8 after the local manufacturers built a strategic stock of over 50 million masks, added the ministry in a press release, noting that the majority of these licensed Morocco-made face masks were shipped to Europe.

Over 33 pc of the overall exported Moroccan masks were ordered by France which takes the lead of European countries, followed by Portugal (28.5 pc) and Spain (14.6 pc).

Other countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia also imported the facemasks manufactured in Morocco according to high international safety standards.

The export of these masks worldwide shows the trust of the international medical community in the high quality of the Moroccan product and is a good opening for the local textile professionals to shift their production towards the highly demanded protective gears during the current covid-19 pandemic, said the ministry.

Morocco, which has imposed the wearing of facemasks since early April,  was manufacturing over 12 million masks a day by May 15.

Morocco’s decision to start manufacturing locally masks, gowns and medical devices that enabled it to secure autonomy in this period of global shortage earned him international praise.