Coronavirus: China ramps up Covid-19 test kit exports amid global shortage, as domestic demand dries up
- More than 100 Chinese companies are selling coronavirus testing kits to Europe, but most are not licensed to sell in China
- A global shortage of kits has sparked a scramble for resources, but the specialist nature of the production process provides limitations
As the horror of the coronavirus outbreak in China was unfolding over January’s Lunar New Year holiday, a group of technicians were holed up in a Nanjing facility with a supply of instant noodles, working long hours to develop testing kits for diagnosing the virus.
“I did not think about applying for approvals in China,” said Zhang Shuwen, founder of Nanjing Liming Bio-products. “The application takes too much time. When I finally get the approvals, the outbreak might already be finished.”
Instead, Zhang is part of a legion of Chinese exporters selling testing kits to the rest of the world amid the rapid spread of the pandemic outside China, where the outbreak is now increasingly under control, leading to a fall in domestic demand.
In February, he applied to sell four testing products in the European Union, receiving official CE accreditation in March, meaning they complied with health, safety and environmental standards set by European regulators. Now, Zhang has an order book brimming with clients from Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary, France, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea.
“We have so many orders now that we are working until 9pm, seven days a week. We are considering working 24 hours a day, asking workers to take three shifts every day,” Zhang said.
