ULAN BATOR, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia is keen on increasing exports of agriculture products, especially meat and meat products, to China, Mongolian Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Chultem Ulaan has said.
"The Mongolian government has set a goal to develop a multi-pillar economy in a bid to diversify its heavily mining-dependent economy. Promoting the development of the agricultural sector is seen as the most reachable solution to achieve the goal," Ulaan told Xinhua here in an interview on Tuesday.
"Now, we aim to increase the exports of non-mining sectors to China," the minister said, noting that China has been the biggest market and the top export destination for Mongolia.
Mongolia has a great chance to promote economic growth by increasing its exports of high-quality ecologically pure food products such as meat and meat products and organic dairy products, Ulaan said, adding that China, with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, is the primary target market for the landlocked Asian country.
Mongolia earned around 190 million U.S. dollars from meat exports in 2018, with most of the revenue coming from its exports to China, the minister said, stressing that the nomadic country has set itself the goal of increasing the revenue of meat and meat products to 1 billion dollars.
The number of livestock animals in Mongolia has now reached 85 million so far this year after around 19 million dams (female animals) across the country have given birth, the minister said.
He added that the Mongolian government has been paying special attention to disinfecting all livestock to prevent animal diseases and boost meat exports.
Agriculture is a traditional sector of the Asian country, producing approximately almost 30 percent of the gross domestic product and 16 percent of the total exports, Ulaan said.
He added that more than 50 percent of the total employees in the country work in this sector, forming the main source of their livelihood with revenue from selling agricultural products.
