Mongolia's main food product, rice, is 100 percent dependent on imports. Mongolia consumes an average of 50,000 tons of rice a year, about 50 percent of which is imported from Vietnam, Montsame reports.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have begun to take measures to restrict exports of some food products in accordance with their economic characteristics and there is a potential risk of rice shortages and price rise in Mongolia. Accordingly, the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry and Head of Mongolia-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission Ch.Ulaan conveyed a request to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam on maintaining the stability of rice export.

Sides also agreed to develop recommendations for the export of heat-processed meat and meat products to Vietnam, and to grant International Veterinary Certificate for deep-frozen meat electronically.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry will continue to focus on policy measures to stabilize the supply of key food items during the pandemic.

1. The ‘Child Money’ monthly allowance, given for a total of 1.14 million children in Mongolia, will be raised to MNT 100,000 until October 1, 2020. As the previously-increased MNT 30,000 from initial MNT 10,000 within the framework of the government’s first package of measures, was already granted to children in April 2020, the leftover amount MNT 70,000 will be compensated in the coming days.

2. The monthly food stamps, granted to people in high necessity for food provision, will be doubled for five months from May 1 to October 1, 2020. This measure will involve 240.2 thousand citizens of low-income households. The food stamps worth MNT 16,000 was given to adults and MNT 8,000 to children.

3. Around 32.6 thousand people, including 3.6 thousand senior citizens who are not entitled to pension benefits, 42.5 thousand citizens with disabilities, 16.5 thousand orphaned or half-orphaned children and single parents will receive additional MNT 100,000 in the next five months until October 1, totaling their monthly allowance to MNT 280,000.

4. In compliance with directive given by the parliament to support the herders’ revenue and domestic production of cashmere industry, a subsidy of MNT 20,000 will be given for each kilogram of cashmere supply.

As announced by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, the total cost of the four measures is around MNT 793 billion, and MNT 593 billion of which will finance the cost for the additional social welfare allowances and MNT 200 billion is for cashmere subsidy payment.

The document, seen by Reuters and expected to be published on Thursday, also includes Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe to the EU listing.

Countries on the list “pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union,” the draft document, which is still subject to changes, says.

Under EU law, banks and other financial and tax firms are obliged to scrutinise more closely their clients who have dealings with countries on the list. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alex Richardson)

According to the statistics released by the Customs General Administration, Mongolia imported 976,301 face masks in the previous year.

In the reference period, 40,606 test kits, 13,437 personal protective gears and 5.8 million medical equipment was imported.

Trump, speaking to reporters at a White House event marking National Nurses Day, said he tried some masks on backstage, including one from Honeywell, 3M and about four others.

The president has not been wearing a mask in public despite health advice from his administration encouraging people to do so to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Trump said before embarking on his trip to Arizona to visit a plant that made masks that he would likely wear one when he was there.

He did not wear one for the majority of his visit, but he told reporters he had one on at least briefly.

“I had a mask on for a period of time,” Trump said. “I can’t help it if you didn’t see me. I mean, I had a mask on, but I didn’t need it. And I asked specifically the head of Honeywell: ‘Should I wear a mask?’ And he said, “Well, you don’t need one,’” Trump said.

Trump took a tour of the facility, held a meeting about how the virus was affecting native Americans, and gave remarks, all without a mask.

Asked how long he had one on, Trump said, “Not too long, but I had it on. I had it on ... backstage. But they said you didn’t need it.”

Trump wore safety goggles during the factory tour. Production workers wore masks and a sign was visible that read: “Attention: Face Mask Required in this Area. Thank You!”

Some of the officials who joined Trump for the tour also did not wear masks.

Honeywell said on Wednesday, “Following White House recommended protocol, a small number of individuals directly interfacing with the president ... were tested for COVID-19 immediately prior to the event, received negative test results, and were permitted to not wear masks ... All others present were wearing masks ... in accordance with Honeywell’s site policy.”

Vice President Mike Pence was criticized in recent days for not wearing a face mask when visiting patients at the Mayo Clinic last week, something he apologized for during a television interview on Sunday.

Reporting by Jeff Mason and Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Sanjana Sitara Shivdas and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bangalore; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Shumaker

Instead, early data for April show markets across western Europe coming to a standstill as new car sales in Europe, Italy and France fell by 90%. Stunningly, the UK saw the lowest number of new cars sold since 1946.

Battery metals producers can take some cold comfort from the fact that 32% of cars sold in the UK last month were electric, boosted by online sales of the Tesla Model 3.

Across Europe, EV penetration rates are also climbing rapidly, showing the consumer shift away from diesel and gasoline has some real momentum. Despite showroom shutdowns beginning early March, first quarter EV sales reached a record high of 217,000 units, or 6.5% penetration.

Lithium oversupply
But that would not be enough to rescue 2020 for lithium producers, says Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a battery supply chain researcher and price discovery company, in a new report.

The London-HQed company, which also tracks battery megafactory (>1Gwh capacity) construction around the globe, believes the pandemic will shave a little over 9% from its previous demand estimates.

Benchmark forecasts lithium demand to reach just under 316,000 tonnes in 2020 on the back of a slowdown in battery manufacture and traditional end markets including glass, ceramics, and lubricants.

As a result, Benchmark expects the market surplus to persist through to 2023. In its April price assessment, Benchmark recorded another 5.3% decline in its sales-weighted lithium index, bringing the year-on-year decline to more than 40%.

South American export prices for lithium carbonate fell hardest to the mid-$6,000s – half of what brine producers fetched a year ago.

China’s V-shape
China, the world’s number one market for EVs, is only now emerging from the pandemic slump, but early signs promise a quick and robust recovery for the industry.

China’s Passenger Car Association reported preliminary passenger car sales in the second half of April up by double digits compared to last year, signalling a V– rather than a U-shaped recovery.

Chinese EV sales are also benefiting from changes to purchase incentives announced last month and changing habits. Post-lockdown – subway journeys in major centres are down by half while commuting by car is up significantly compared to last year.

Subsidies were extended to the end of 2022 and the new phase-out approach may persuade buyers to bring purchases forward.