Industry minister calls for ramped up PPE production
MINISTER of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Cham Prasidh on Friday asked the Taiwanese-led Medtecs (Cambodia) Corp Ltd to further ramp up its production of personal protective equipment (PPE) and boost local supply.
He said this at a meeting held at the ministry with Clement Yang, who is the CEO of the Kampong Cham provincebased firm, executive chairman ofTaiwanbased Medtecs Intl Corp Ltd and founder of the Manhattan Special Economic Zone in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet town.
Prasidh praised Yang as a successful investor in Cambodia for 21 years and a meaningful contributor to its economy, labour market and social responsibility, highlighting his donations of face masks and medical gear to the Kingdom and other countries to aid in their Covid-19 response work.
“Manufacturers should further increase their production of Covid-19 protective equipment to meet all market demands as the virus continues to threaten the world,” he said.
Yang said he is pleased with the results of his investments in Cambodia’s manufacturing sector and special economic zones.
Minor obstacles notwithstanding, he said the Kingdom is an attractive investment destination with an untapped reservoir of potential.
He revealed plans to increase capital to expand his factory and economic zone citing the Cambodia-Vietnam border as an important economic corridor.
The Kingdom exported just over $191.3 million worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the first half of this year, a 130 per cent rise from the $83.3 million recorded last year, according to data from the General Department of Customs and Excise.
Face mask exports for the six months ended June were valued at $2.5 million. No figure exists for the same period last year.
There are seven factories and seven cottage industries that are either in the application process or are currently producing face masks and other PPE, data from the ministry show.
The factories are cumulatively able to manufacture 138 million face masks, about 20.7 million medical gowns and some 9.6 million medical caps monthly.
The data show their export destinations as being China, Japan, the US and Europe.
In April, Prime Minister Hun Sen pointed out that the government needed at least 10 million masks and at least 5,000 pieces of medical clothing to effectively combat the novel coronavirus.
The Kingdom exported $190.9 million worth of medical equipment last year, the customs department reported.