BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) - The Chinese mainland exported 470 million U.S. dollars worth of anti-epidemic supplies to Hong Kong during the first half of the year, up 130 percent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.

Residents are given free COVID-19 coronavirus test kits by workers (R) at a government clinic in the Kowloon-side Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong in the early morning of July 29, 2020, as part of a city-wide testing initiative. (Photo: AFP)

Besides the anti-epidemic supplies including face masks, protective clothing, ventilators, thermometers, goggles and test kits, the mainland exported 1.8 billion U.S. dollars worth of pharmaceutical products to Hong Kong during the period, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

The central government has also been working to ensure adequate supplies of agricultural products to Hong Kong since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Currently, about 85 percent of live food animals, 90 percent of vegetables and 60 percent of aquatic products in the Hong Kong market are supplied by the mainland.

The ministry will closely track market changes and work to ensure the demand in Hong Kong is met in a bid to support the region's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.