Ulaanbaatar, January 12, 2024 /MONTSAME/ The President of Mongolia, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa yesterday worked at “Buligaar” JSC, which operates in the light industry sector.

“Buligaar” JSC operates in shoe upper material production, leather processing, and foreign trade. The company manufactures a variety of leather products with its own semi and fully-processed hides and skins and sells the products to domestic and foreign markets. They currently supply their processed leather to more than 100 enterprises and 60 citizens and plan to update the equipment and expand their operations.

T. Bayarsaikhan, executive director of the Mongolian Association of Leather Industry, noted “If the leather processing industry is fully supported extensively like “Food Supply and Safety” and "One Billion Trees" National Campaigns and Social Security contributions are renegotiated, the light industry has potential to be developed as a cluster.”

President Khurelsukh worked at "Khos Az " and "MARIS" LLC on the same day.

"Khos Az" LLC shoe factory has an annual capacity of 100,000 pairs of shoes. All kinds of shoes for men, women, children, and people with special needs are produced, and 300 pairs of shoes are supplied to the market per day. The manufacturing of special protection boots for mining companies, the Ministry of Defense, the National Police Agency, the General Authority for Border Protection, and others make up approximately 80 percent of the shoe production.

In 2022, the enterprises that took out loans for leather production purchased raw materials and auxiliary materials worth more than MNT 14 billion, prepared fixed assets of more than MNT 1.2 billion, and paid taxes of more than MNT 2 billion. New equipment for the processing of raw materials of food and agricultural origin, registered as fixed assets of the plant, has received a 100% discount from the customs duty on imported goods until January 1, 2027. The discount covers 426 types of equipment in the food and light industry sector.

More than 3,200 enterprises and factories are operating in the light industry sector including in the fields of wool, cashmere, leather, wood, wooden furniture, sewing products, clothing, printing, packaging, recycling, cosmetics, and household chemicals, and about 44 thousand people are employed in the sector. Statistics show that by the end of 2022, the export of the light industry was USD 508 million and the import was USD 703 million.

President Khurelsukh also worked at "Yanmal" LLC.

"Yanmal" LLC, the first sock manufacturer in Mongolia, has the capacity to produce 20,000 pairs of cotton and wool socks per day. It is characterized by buying raw wool from herders and making it into a final product. It annually supplies 9 million pairs or about 60 percent of the sock market and exports its products to about 20 countries.

Support for the light industry is increasing year by year, and in 2023, investment and working capital loans of about MNT 170 billion have been granted for wool and cashmere preparation, processing, and production alone.

Mongolia uses 30,000 tons of wool annually, and the rest goes to waste. President Khurelsukh stated that in the future, the issue of wool preparation, supply, processing, production, and sale of final products should be comprehensively resolved and 100 percent of the wool should be properly used. It will lead to positive outcomes, including the improvement of the country's economy, the creation of many jobs, and the improvement of the lives of herders. Therefore, the President instructed the relevant ministers to study and present a proposal for the establishment of a large-scale factory with modern advanced equipment and technologies. The President also urged citizens to support national production.

General Director of "Khos Az" LLC N. Zorigt, and the Founder of "Yanmal" LLC D. Lkhagvajav, expressed their gratitude for the decision made by the Government of Mongolia during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, which temporarily exempted enterprises and households from utility fees (electricity, heat, and water bills), which created the opportunity to maintain their activities, preserve the jobs, and increase their salaries. They also noted that if national producers in the light industry are granted long-term, low-interest loans and provided with consistent tax support, the wool production factories can increase their capacity to fully satisfy the domestic market, and export their products.

                   Translated by Sainzaya Davaajamts