The Egyptian trade and industry minister Nevine Gamea has announced plans for the government to manufacture about 30 million cloth masks a month to meet local demands. In the next few days the production of masks will begin, with 8 million fabric masks to be produced in the first phase. These will be delivered to the Unified Procurement, Medical Supply and Technology Management Authority (AUPP), which will in turn deliver them to state agencies.
As per the government, this project will offer the domestic industry an opportunity to become a major centre for fabric mask manufacturing, especially in light of the increasing global demand for these types of masks. The raw materials needed for manufacturing of these masks are already available in the country.
The government’s MSMEDA has also prepared an inventory of the small textile and garment factories which have been financed since 2015. As part of the value chain in this industry, the Ministry aims to link these plants with large ones, which contributes to maximization of the benefits of those production capacities and to maintain existing labor in these plants.
