That dollar metric results from a 99.3% acceleration from $7.6 billion five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Mongolian exports advanced by 20.9% compared to $12.6 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Mongolian tugrik has depreciated by -30.1% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -10.3% from 2022 to 2023. Mongolia’s weaker local currency makes Mongolian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Mongolia’s 5 most valuable exports from are coal including solid fuels made from coal, copper ores or concentrates, unwrought gold, iron ores or concentrates, then crude oil. Collectively, that quintet of major Mongolian exported products accounted for 85.2% of overall revenues from Mongolia’s export sales. Such a high percentage indicates a concentrated portfolio of exported goods.
Mongolia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 99.2% of products exported from Mongolia were bought by importers in: mainland China (91.2% of the Mongolian total), Switzerland (4.4%), South Korea (1%), Russia (0.73%), Italy (0.65%), Singapore (0.28%), United States of America (0.24%), Iran (0.23%), Taiwan (0.17%), Kazakhstan (0.15%), Egypt (0.12%) and Japan (0.1%).
From a continental perspective, 93.4% of Mongolia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow Asian countries while 6.1% was sold to importers in Europe.
Mongolia shipped another 0.3% worth of goods to North America. Tinier percentages went to buyers in North America (0.3%), Africa (0.13%), Latin America (0.082%) excluding Mexico, then Oceania (0.025%) mostly Australia.
Given Mongolia’s population of 3.51 million people, its total $15.2 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $4,300 for every resident in the expansive East Asian country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,600 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Mongolia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Mongolian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Mongolia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$9.3 billion (61.1% of total exports)
- Ores, slag, ash: $3.6 billion (23.7%)
- Gems, precious metals: $762 million (5%)
- Wool: $400.3 million (2.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $272.4 million (1.8%)
- Meat: $171.7 million (1.1%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $139.6 million (0.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $115.4 million (0.8%)
- Copper: $107.4 million (0.7%)
- Machinery including computers: $53.6 million (0.4%)
Mongolia’s top 10 export categories generated 98.1% of the overall value of total Mongolian shipments.
Meat or seafood preparations was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 719.7% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving Mongolian export sales was meat via a 389.1% advance.
Mongolia’s shipments of machinery including computers posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 168.8%.
The leading decliner among Mongolia’s top 10 export categories was gems and precious metals, pulled down by a -31.5% year-over-year retreat.
The listed product categories are at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, coal including solid fuels made from coal represent Mongolia’s most valuable exported product at 57.7% of the country’s total. In second place were copper ores and concentrates (17.3%) trailed by unwrought gold (4.9%), iron ores and concentrates: (2.9%), crude oil (2.4%), uncarded and uncombed animal hair (1.9%), feldspar and leucite (1.8%), zinc ores and concentrates (1.4%), miscellaneous prepared or preserved meat (0.9%), then lignite (also 0.9%).
Products Creating Mongolia’s Largest Trade Surpluses
Mongolia achieved an overall US$5.9 billion product trade surplus for 2023, expanding by 55.7% from $3.8 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2022.
The following types of Mongolian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$7.2 billion (Up by 48.7% since 2022)
- Ores, slag, ash: $3.6 billion (Down by -2.3%)
- Gems, precious metals: $753.1 million (Down by -31.8%)
- Wool: $380.4 million (Down by -15.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $251.8 million (Up by 152.6%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $123.2 million (Up by 27460%)
- Copper: $104.4 million (Up by 24.5%)
- Meat: $92.4 million (Reversing a -$36.2 million deficit)
- Fruits, nuts: $77.3 million (Up by 119.3%)
- Oil seeds: $37.7 million (Up by 438.4%)
Mongolia has highly positive net exports in the international trade particularly for coal and crude petroleum oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Mongolia’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Products Causing Mongolia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Mongolia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Mongolia’s goods trail Mongolian importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$1.5 billion (Up by 9.5% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.1 billion (Up by 43.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$593.2 million (Up by 25.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$509.6 million (Up by 28.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$270 million (Down by -19.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$185 million (Down by -12.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$167.8 million (Down by -4.6%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$152.8 million (Up by 23.1%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: -$144.6 million (Down by -18.7%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: -$125.4 million (Up by 4.4%)
Mongolia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the vehicles category, notably for cars, trucks, tractors and automotive parts or accessories. Those deficiencies point to Mongolia’s lack of a strong automobile manufacturing sector.
Mongolian Export Companies
Not one Mongolian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
According to trade portal Alibaba.com, the following are examples of Mongolian export companies. Major products for each business are shown within brackets.
- Dornod Gazar LLC (acid-grade fluorspar)
- Khaadin Ger LLC (customized huts, furniture)
- Mogol Noos LLC (camel wool, yarn)
- Monom Consulting LLC (carpets)
- TESO LLC (non-dairy cream, noodles)
- Uguuj Shim LLC (camel wool)
- Wocom Group LLC (beef bone marrow)
Wikipedia also lists entities from Mongolia that are either directly involved in or related participants in international trade, including financial and transportation players. Selected examples are shown below.
- Bank of Mongolia (central bank)
- MIAT Mongolian Airlines (international airliner)
- Tavan Bogd Group (business conglomerate)
- UFC Group (food, beverages)
In macroeconomic terms, Mongolia’s total exported goods represent 28.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($53 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 28.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 26% for 2022. Those metrics suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Mongolia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Mongolia’s unemployment rate averaged 6.561% for 2023, down from an average 7.29% in 2022 per International Monetary Fund statistics.
Domestically, Mongolia’s average consumer inflation rate was 12.267% for 2023 down from 15.153% in 2022.
Mongolia’s capital city is Ulaanbaatar.
See also China’s Top Trading Partners, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners, Singapore’s Top Trading Partners,South Korea’s Top Trading Partners and Russia’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook East & Southeast Asia: Mongolia. Accessed on April 2, 2024
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Mongolia. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on April 2, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 2, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Mongolia. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Wikipedia, Mongolia. Accessed on April 2, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 2, 2024
WorldOMeter, Mongolia Population. Accessed on April 2, 2024