MEDICAL FACE MASKS PRODUCERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

The panic associated with the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), which settled in the society at the very beginning of the pandemic, is remembered by many entrepreneurs. The heads of enterprises in the Saratov region, having heard the calls of the authorities to organize the mass production of PPE, are now on the verge of ruin and preparing for bankruptcy.

The reason for this state of affairs is the lack of a long-term strategy for the state aimed at combating epidemic risks. The head of the REMO plant, Arkady Voloshin, said this in an interview with Novy Izvestia.

According to Voloshin, many companies engaged in the production of medical devices actually went bankrupt due to the falling demand for PPE by the end of 2020.

As it turned out, the point was not even that the pandemic has declined, and no one needed medical masks. The main reason was the betrayed confidence of domestic entrepreneurs, who hoped that the state would increase strategic reserves at their expense. In fact, as soon as the supply began to significantly outstrip demand, the state reported optimistic indicators and closed the issue.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the demand of people and organizations for PPE is 10.8 million pieces per day, while the existing production capacity allows us to produce 21 million pieces. The average price for the year fell almost three times: from 220 rubles last spring (at the beginning of the pandemic) to 58 rubles today.

Voloshin noted that a similar situation has developed in the production of air disinfection devices (recirculation devices), which are produced by the enterprise he heads. The company took out loans, hired new employees and increased the volume of production to a thousand devices per day.

However, the mandatory requirements for the installation of such devices in transport or catering establishments were never adopted, and the business did not want to voluntarily spend money on their purchase.

Voloshin noted that there was also an "expansion" of devices made in China. Exports of cheaper goods brought down the demand for Russian devices, although, as it turned out, Chinese products were not equipped with disinfecting elements. Nevertheless, many organizations bought them just "for a show", realizing their absolute uselessness in the fight against viruses.

According to the information of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan, tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and more than 70 large firms were engaged in the production of protective masks on the territory of the republic last year. Now many of them have either already left the market or were forced to calculate losses. The E-Service company, which was engaged in the production of recirculators, actually went bankrupt. Currently, only the director works in the company, and the debt to creditors is 90 million rubles.