A shipment of face masks worth nearly 15 million yuan ($2.12 million) was airlifted from the city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province to Italy on April 22, local media reported.

The masks produced by Wenzhou Light Industrial Products Arts & Crafts Im/Export Co Ltd were exported via market purchase trade, which features quick customs clearance and exemption from value added tax.

As the novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic is causing numerous countries to restrict the entry of ships and cargo flights, Wu Gao, president of the company, has had concerns about the company's future.

Wu now has an order worth $115 million, which the aforementioned 15-million-yuan worth of masks are part of. The client asked for expedited delivery and revealed that they may need more orders in the near future.

According to Wu, if the masks were airlifted to Shanghai first and then to the Italy as they used to be, they would take about one week to arrive.

After learning about Wu's difficulties, the Wenzhou municipal bureau of commerce secured a passenger plane for him, which stopped at Wenzhou Longwan Airport for about four hours.

To ensure the plane could take off on time, Wenzhou customs carried out inspections in advance and finished customs clearance, supervision and loading in just one and a half days.

"In five days, our company will send 30 batches of masks to Italy in the same way," noted Wu.

In the first quarter of this year, exports in Wenzhou via market purchase trade were valued at $760 million yuan, driving the city's overall exports up 14.2 percent year-on-year.

Exports in Wenzhou via market purchase trade were valued at $760 million yuan in the first quarter of this year, driving the city's overall exports up 14.2 percent year-on-year. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]