(Yicai Global) Feb. 17 -- A lack of raw materials, absent workers and logistical difficulties are all hindering the production of much needed face masks in China's fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic. Despite this, output continues to increase each day.

The country's mask production was back to 94 percent capacity as of Feb. 11, Xiang Nong, an inspector at the Industrial Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference on Feb. 13.

Around 3,000 companies in different sectors across the country have also turned to making masks and other medical products as the government has promised to buy as much as they can produce. For instance, automakers BYD, Guangzhou Automobile Group and SAIC-GM Wuling Automobile have all added masks to their production lines.

Fabric maker Foshan Nanhai Beautiful Nonwoven in southern Guangdong province has been open since before the end of the extended Chinese New Year holiday on Feb. 3 and has been working non-stop for 24 hours a day since then, Managing Director Deng Weixiong told Yicai Global. Mask production will soon reach over one million units a day. It is already double what it was at the same time last year.

Medical supplies manufacturer Allmed Medical Products is now the largest supplier of N95 masks, which have a 95 percent filtering efficiency rate, in Hubei province with a daily output of over 160,000, a company insider said. It is also producing 500,000 surgical masks and disposable masks a day.

"We're making 200,000 masks a day," an insider at Shenzhen Selen Science and Technology said. We operate 24 hours a day and have not had a day off since Chinese New Year's day. We plan to increase daily production capacity to between 300,000 and 500,000 masks by the end of the month, he added.

However, these factories are facing a shortage of raw materials. Masks are made from melt-blown cloth to block the spread of droplets. There are not many local companies that make this fabric, a Dongguan-based mask manufacturer said. The sudden surge in demand has caused the price to increase five-fold.

Meanwhile, the cost of the machinery has tripled. A set of equipment that can churn out more than 10,000 masks a day used to cost CNY200,000 (USD28,650), but is now CNY600,000, he added.

The high-end non-woven fabrics used in masks and surgical gowns are made from polypropylene resins. "Our hotline has received no less than 10 calls ordering polypropylene fiber," a member of staff at chemical products maker Ningxia Baofeng Energy said. The firm is now rushing to increase production of these raw materials.

Many workers have also failed to return to work after the Chinese New Year break. Nanhai Beautiful only has about 400 employees at present, including volunteers and management personnel, out of a workforce of over 2,000 skilled staff.

Roadblocks and other travel restrictions have greatly affected logistics. There are also a number of drivers who have yet to end their holiday, again affecting the supply of raw materials and the delivery of products.

"We're facing shortages of raw materials," an insider at China's largest medical dressings maker Zhende Medical said. "Restrictions on transportation have affected the smooth flow of logistics. The government is helping us to address these issues."

Xiamen-based mask maker Zhongke Best Environmental Protection Technology is turning out 60,000 to 70,000 masks a day, General Manager Chen Ye said. Raw materials that used to come from Guangdong province for mask accessories, such as earwear, are now in short supply due to restrictions on the export of these materials to other provinces.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor