The foreign trade performance of the Mongolian economy is a matter for concern.  As of September 2016 the total cumulative trade turnover has decreased by 10.9% (USD 631.6 million) from the previous year and now stands at USD 5166.8 million. The decrease in the trade turnover is due to a 7.9% (USD 258.2 million) fall in exports as well as imports, which have plummeted by 14.7% ($373.3 million).

The structure of the trade flows with the two main neighboring trade partners is as follows: trade with China currently stands at 60.5 % or USD 3123.7 million while trade with Russia stands at 11.9 % or USD 612.6 million. The trade volume between Mongolia and China has decreased by 15.0 % while with Russia it fell by 16.5%.

Regarding the trade index: in September 2016, this decreased by 11.0 % on the previous year and reached 1.149. The decrease in terms of trade is mainly attributed to the fall in the export price of copper concentrate and iron ore.

As of September 2016, the balance of trade of paid trade flows reached USD 801.5 million, a decrease of USD 53.9 million on the previous year.