Mongolia needs to develop greenhouses to attain self-sufficiency

The closure of a border crossing in Erlian, last October, due to the outbreak of Covid, led to a shortage of vegetables imported from China to Mongolia. The Erlian border is still unopened; therefore, Mongolians need to grow their leafy vegetables in the country. Mongolia imports 21,000 tons of leafy vegetables a year for $25 million. Of this, 80 percent comes from China and the remaining 20 percent is supplied to domestic greenhouse operators. Some people, who have succeeded in running greenhouses, suggest that the government should contribute to developing and building them under the slogan “Let’s develop our non-digging mines” and then sell them to experienced farmers with loans that they pay through selling their products.