Medical supplies like face masks and sanitizing gel are in high demand ​amid the ​COVID-19 pandemic. But in some less-economically powerful countries, they can be difficult to obtain.

Mexico, for example, has faced chronic shortages of most products. Yet when it comes to ​their manufacture, the country is booming. CGTN's Alasdair Baverstock reports.

RexMed, one of many medical supply factories in Mexico, is supplying the U.S. market from Ciudad Juarez, just steps from the border.

For the locals facing shortages, it's an irritation.

"The factory is owned by an American company, but the products are made by Mexican hands, so something has to remain here," said Cuidad Juarez Resident Pedro Briones.

Medical manufactur​ing is considered essential work, and many of are running for longer hours than before the pandemic.

Carlos Murguia, the RexMed director, said his factory is a very safe place to be.

"Our sanitary precautions have always been very demanding, precisely for the type of products we manufacture. We work in highly graded 'sterile rooms,' and everyone has to wear full protective clothing. It’s normal for us to be working under these conditions," he said. "For me, it's safer to be in a sterile room here than in my own house."

Business is booming and Murguia said this surge in growth is allowing him to give something back to Mexico.

"Demand has grown so much that we are increasing our factory size and production capacity and that is allowing us to leave some of our products in Mexico, which we never did before the pandemic, while still meeting our orders from the U.S.," Murguia said.

For many Mexicans, pandemic or not, a focus on foreign needs is nothing new.

"It's always been this way. We have always worked for other countries instead of working for ourselves. So while the United States has been in lockdown, taking care of the public, we have had to work. It has always been this way in Mexico," said resident Angelica Silva.

Check out The China Report, our new weekly newsletter. Subscribe here!