Following industry demand, Centre allows export of woven masks

nNEW DELHI: Almost two months into the lockdown, the central government Saturday eased some restrictions on the exports of masks.

In a circular, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade made modifications to its earlier order and allowed the export of nonmedical masks made of woven cloth such as silk, wool and cotton, as well as knitted ones. All other masks under the Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonised System of Coding remain prohibited for exports.

On January 31, the government had banned the exports of all categories of personal protection equipment (PPE) but allowed exports of 2-ply and 3-ply surgical masks from February 8, inviting criticism from the Opposition. The textile ministry said that it did so after it was assured by the industry of adequate supply .

N95 and N99 masks, which are used by health-workers and Covid patients in hospitals, as well as two and three-ply masks used in surgeries are non-woven and made of meltblown fabric, which ministry officials defined as a “critical component”. “There is a shortage of meltblown fabric the world over, not just in India, and we cannot part with the masks made of the material at this critical point,” an official said.

Days before the lockdown was announced on March 24, key government officials in a meeting helmed by the textiles secretary on March 18 pegged the shortage of 10.5 lakh N95 masks and 10 lakh masks. Since then India has reached the capacity to produce 2lakh N95 masks daily, prime minister Modi said during his address on May 19.

Ashok Juneja of the Textile Association of India said that as garment industry does not have any orders, the move will help generate income. “The woven ones are washable and can be reused, and in the near future, the usage of masks will increase,” said Juneja.