Ulaanbaatar, October 16, 2024 /MONTSAME/. Mongolia conducted trade with a total of 154 countries in the first nine months of 2024, with total foreign trade turnover reaching USD 20.4 billion.

Specifically:

• Exports amounted to USD 11.8 billion
• Imports amounted to USD 8.6 billion

Trade turnover increased by USD 2.3 billion compared to the same period in 2023, with exports growing by USD 482.7 million (4.3%) and imports by USD 1.9 billion.

The increase in exports for the first nine months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, was driven by:

• Copper concentrate: USD 264.6 million
  
• Coal: USD 218.0 million
• Iron ore and concentrate: USD 123.1 million

On the other hand, exports of zinc ore and concentrate decreased by USD 59.8 million, and canned meat products dropped by USD 50.9 million.

The growth of imports in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 is attributed to:

• Passenger cars: USD 304.4 million
• Trucks: USD 259.7 million
• Diesel fuel: USD 187.0 million
• Bulldozers, motor scrapers, rollers, graders, and excavators: USD 122.7 million
• Telecommunication apparatus: USD 67.5 million
• Gasoline: USD 62.9 million

The price of gold increased by USD 355.2 per ounce compared to the same period in 2023, while the price of copper concentrate rose by USD 160.8 per ton, and iron ore and concentrate prices grew by USD 6.2 per ton. However, coal prices decreased by USD 23.9 per ton.

For China:

• 62.4% of exports were coal
• 21.0% were copper concentrate

For Switzerland:

• 99.5% of exports were unprocessed or semi-processed gold.

Coal exports accounted for 61.6% of Mongolia's total exports to China in the first nine months of 2024, a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the same period in 2023.

In terms of export routes, 45.6 percent of exports were conducted through Gashuunsukhait port, 19.5 percent through Zamiin-Uud port, and 13.4 percent through Shiveekhuren ports, totaling 78.5 percent of all exports. Exports of mineral products, precious stones, metals, jewelry, and textiles made up 96.2 percent of total exports.

Meanwhile, 72.4 percent of imports consisted of mineral products, machinery, electrical equipment, transportation vehicles, parts, and basic metals and their products.

In the first nine months of 2024, 70.9 percent of goods imported from Russia were petroleum products, while 78 percent of goods imported from Japan were passenger cars, and 11.6 percent of goods imported from China were trucks.

Machinery and equipment imports from China accounted for 27.8 percent of total imports, a 1.2 percentage point decrease from the same period in 2023. The majority of imports, 51.7 percent, were conducted through Zamiin-Uud and 21.6 percent through Sukhbaatar ports, totaling 73.2 percent.

Exports: Goods that deplete the country's material reserves and are sent abroad from the economic territory. Total exports include direct exports of domestic goods and re-exports of foreign goods.

Imports: Goods that increase the country's material reserves and are brought into the economic territory from abroad. Total imports include direct imports of foreign goods and re-imports of domestic goods, according to an explanation provided by the National Statistics Office of Mongolia.