Mongolia exported 15.9 million tons of coal in 2021, down 44.3 percent from the previous year. The sharp drop is directly related to restrictions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coal is Mongolia’s main export commodity. Mongolia has planned to export at least 36 million tons of coal in 2022.

During 2020, Mongolia’s total coal exports  plunged by 22 percent to 28.6 million tonnes, well below the target set by Ulaanbaatar at the start of the year to lift exports to beyond 40 million tonnes last year. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was the chief reason for the plunge in Mongolian coal deliveries.

The coal trading between Mongolia and China was disrupted again from late November when a new wave of the pandemic hit both countries. As Chinese and Mongolian government authorities adopted immediate COVID-19 tests on truck drivers, coal transportation was disrupted again.