Will the price of masks rise in the fourth wave?

The fourth wave of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed health authorities in the country and as a first provision, the Minister of Health announced that Peruvians would again use masks in public places. For some, this caused discomfort because they would have to worry about one more expense per month.

It’s no secret that in the first six months of the pandemic the price of the mask has increased by more than 10 times its cost; that is, the size of the KN95 mask has changed from S / 1 to S / 20, and the surgical type – from S / 0.20 to S / 1.5.

In the first months of the pandemic in the country, citizens had to spend up to S/100 to buy 4 KN95 masks and 30 surgical masks to protect themselves for a month, but those who did not have enough money used cloth masks, they chose to cover themselves with bags or dispose of used masks, wash them and use them again, despite their low efficiency.

According to Sandro Stapleton, president of Comsalud, the health care association of the Lima Chamber of Commerce, the rise in the price of masks was due to a lack of supply worldwide. “We could find a mask in China for $2, which, if you add taxes, cost the businessman about S/10, and if you add transportation, the cost doubled in the retail market,” he said.

Import of masks normalized

Before the pandemic, Peru imported masks worth between 30 and 40 million US dollars a year. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the investment rose to $427 million. This was in 2021 when there was enough supply and the amount was reduced to $105 million. At present, from January to June 2022, mask imports reach 44 million US dollars.

Will the price increase when used in public places?

According to Stapleton, The 3,000 companies that sell masks in Peru and are listed by Comsalud have about 14 million masks left in stock due to declining demand. so now they have to import small quantities as they try to sell the leftovers from the previous months.

“There are people who have stayed with them and are now taking the opportunity to sell them, but that’s not the same anymore because people are already vaccinated and no one will buy 10 boxes of masks to take them home like they did in the beginning. pandemic”, – said the expert.

In this way, It is excluded that the price of masks sold to the public will increase because there are enough of them in the country. In addition, he recalled that although in Peru the government has already advocated the return of the mandatory use of masks in public places, market demand will not have a greater impact. He noted that the country is not one of the main consumers of this product in the world, so this will not affect stocks.