The production of PFF2 masks, used against Covid-19, has fallen by about 30% since the beginning of this year, according to the National Association of the Safety and Protection Material Industry at Work (Animaseg).
The drop was observed after the peak of cases of the Ômicron variant and tends to increase with the end of the equipment requirement in several cities.
A survey of CNN shows that 14 capitals and the Federal District released the use of masks in any environment and eight other capitals, only in open spaces.
The executive director of Animaseg, Raul Casanova Junior, said that the emergence of the coronavirus changed the national scenario of PFF2 manufacturers, who previously had industries as their main target audience.
According to him, pre-pandemic, of the 14 million monthly units, only 1 million went to the medical sector, a number that grew tenfold after the arrival of Covid-19. Production reached 50 million units in November last year, including the entire buyer market.
Regarding companies, before the pandemic, 28 companies produced masks – 20 of them national manufacturers, three with national and imported products and five importers.
In November last year, that number had risen to 65. “Many people bought machinery and entered this market because the price was inviting”, reported Casanova Junior.
The executive director of Animaseg said that, in 2021, the demand for masks had a reduction, recorded a new increase after the spread of the Ômicron variant and fell again. With this new scenario, companies make plans.
“There are other factors that make us believe that this fall is offset. With the end of the state of emergency, our manufacturers will be able to export again. We already feel that there are countries interested in options for the Chinese market and Brazil is one of those that have the capacity to supply”, he told the CNN.
Since 2020, a law has been in force that prohibits the export of medical, hospital and hygiene products necessary to combat the pandemic.
The determination remains in effect while the state of Public Health Emergency of National Importance (Espin) lasts. Businessmen await the fall of Espin for the resumption of international sales.
In addition, Animaseg believes that the Brazilian market itself will come to an end with a greater demand for masks. “I don’t think it will go back to what it was before. A lot of people are using it regardless of the law.
People got educated (for this use). These masks protect, in addition to Covid, from any virus and bacteria”, he evaluated.
The assessment is shared by Paulo Henrique Fraccaro, superintendent of the Medical Devices Industry Association (Abimo), an entity that represents manufacturers of masks of different types, gloves and gel alcohol.
“We are creating a habit that whenever we are in a very crowded place, or when we have a cold or flu, we will follow the oriental style of wearing masks, something that Chinese and Japanese already did”, he pointed out.
According to Fraccaro, alcohol gel manufacturers still do not feel a slowdown in demand. For him, the product ended up entering the daily lives of Brazilians, as a kind of “portable sink”, which helps with hygiene and is present in bags, tables and dispensers.
The glove industry is starting to feel a downward trend. The Abimo superintendent argues that the result is more a reflection of a political scenario than of consumption.
“The import tax on these products remains at zero, as if Brazil was unable to meet its demand. With the pandemic, companies reorganized and today Brazil could perfectly meet practically 90% of the demands for gloves and 60% to 70% of the masks”, he declared to the CNN.
For Fraccaro, the new moment in the industry of these equipment, which is so much in demand during the pandemic, depends on equality to compete with the international market.
THE CNN questioned the Ministry of Economy on this issue and awaits a response.
Source: CNN Brasil
