North Korea imported more than a million masks at premium prices in July as COVID-19 cases fell nationwide, customs data shows, while authorities appeared to boost rice imports ahead of the September harvest.

According to China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), North Korea’s import of 1.2 million masks last month cost just over $44,000, or roughly $0.036 per mask. By comparison, a shipment of 3.2 million masks in March — a month before the country’s COVID-19 outbreak began — cost $40,000, for a unit cost of just $0.013.

The steady price increase likely corresponds to rising demand in neighboring China