BERLIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Germany imported protective face masks worth around 6 billion euros (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) last year and almost all of them were imported from China, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said Thursday.
"The year 2020 will always be associated with the wearing of protective face masks in Germany," Destatis noted, adding that "on account of the coronavirus pandemic, a new product appeared in German trade with foreign countries."
In April and May 2020 alone, face masks worth 3.5 billion euros (4.2 billion dollars) were imported from China, and 80 percent of imports of face masks last year took place between April and July, according to provisional estimates by Destatis.
Due to mask imports from China in 2020, imports in the product group of textiles excluding clothing increased by 49.4 percent to 16.6 billion euros (19.8 billion dollars), which was a development "contrary to the sharp decline in total German imports," Destatis noted.
In January 2021, 1.4 billion face masks worth 186.7 million euros (222.5 million dollars) were imported to Germany, with 94 percent of them being imported from China. Enditem
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