According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), state budget revenue declined by 8.6 percent to MNT 2.2 trillion in the first quarter from a year ago. In particular, revenue from mineral resources dropped by 33.8 percent to MNT 483 billion compared to the same period of the previous year. Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry reported that the mining sector comprises 21.7 percent of state budget revenue. Gold, iron ore and fluorspar industries’ contribution to taxes and fees have increased. Specifically, gold rose by 2.3 times, iron by 3.6 times and fluoride by 11.4 percent. In addition, the crude oil sector accumulated MNT 21.3 billion to the mining general budget in the first three months. Moreover, Iron ore prices in the global market were relatively stable compared to the same period of the previous year, which can be influenced by the increase in exports of these products. Mongolia mainly exports fluoride to Russia and China. According to the fluoride exporter, Baylag Jonsh LLC, exports to the Russian market in the Q1 continued normally. Besides, Mongolia exported 3.1 million tons of coal, downturned by 59.8 percent year on year. In monetary terms, it fell by 39 percent to USD 250.6 million. Exports are recovering; however, the target to export 42 million tons of coal this year is likely to decline. Furthermore, copper concentrate export lowered by 15.2 percent to 306,600 tons. It dropped by 68 percent to USD 351.2 million notably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published Date:2020-04-21