He said “Our country has restricted its import and export to some extent in the period of outbreak of new coronavirus around the globe. In other words, we face the need to ensure its food demand with its own resource and reserves. Therefore the Government focuses its attention on constant supply of basic food stuff to the people and avoiding surge pricing. For meat and flour, it is resolved to raise amount of domestic manufacturing. While, the aforementioned food products will be exempted from customs and value added taxes from March 1 to June 30 in aims of increasing access and supply of the products that are mainly imported at 100 percent.”

The food importers are allowed not to pay taxes until the adoption of the bill during the spring session of the Parliament. In other words, the taxes until the period of adoption and entry into force of the law will be exempted as well.

The population of Mongolia consumes 225 thousand tons of flour a year. A total of 300 thousand tons of wheat is required to produce it. 247 thousand tons of wheat was supplied to flour factories from the harvest of 2019. Therefore, we need 60 thousand tons of wheat to be imported, remarked the Minister.

Furthermore, some citizens are stocking up food products in certain amount due to the declaration of heightened emergency of readiness for prevention of COVID-19 infection and it was deemed that it could cause shortage.