What was originally intended to only be used by doctors and medical personnel quickly became a quintessential accessory of the modern era. With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, people all over the world turned to face masks to protect themselves. This increase in purchases resulted in an exponential growth of the Face Mask market in 2020.
However, the demand for face masks far outweighed the supply. This prompted other industries, including the automobile, apparel, consumer electronics, as well as oil and gas industries, to turn to face mask manufacturing to keep up with demand. According to our analysis, over 378 billion face masks were sold in 2020. Leading the sales were mainland China and India, two of the most densely populated countries in the world. Moreover, customs in mainland China reported having exported over 224 billion face masks in 2020.
The growing demand for face masks resulted in global price gouging. According to our calculations, the average price of a face mask in 2019 was US$0.1 (the global average). In 2020, however, this increased by more than 500% and prices would have likely continued to rise if governments had not stepped in and imposed price restrictions. For instance, in July 2020, the French government issued a decree limiting the prices of surgical masks and hand sanitizers. In India, the government set a price cap of US$0.2 - 0.5 on N95 respirators and US$0.04 - 0.05 on disposable masks in October 2020. Similarly, the Moroccan government decided to cap the prices at US$0.08 per unit in mid-2020.
Due to the gradual resumption of supply chain logistics as well as industrial and manufacturing operations, manufacturers reduced their prices in most parts of the world by 2021. Some countries within Europe, however, mandated the use of FFP masks, which cost consumers more than the average surgical mask. Demand remained high in most countries as consumers adopted the hybrid-work model, prompting many to purchase 1 - 3 masks on a weekly basis.
Because of the high share of vaccinated people worldwide, the decrease in COVID-19 cases, and the removal of face mask regulations in several countries, the market is expected to contract in 2022. As for the upcoming years, our forecasts anticipate that the number of people wearing face masks will eventually drop and that their use will largely become confined to members of the medical community and the clinically vulnerable, unless a situation resembling an epidemic or pandemic occurs again.
