ULAN BATOR, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia is intensifying its efforts to fully secure domestic demand for basic food products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolian Food and Agriculture Minister Zagdjav Mendsaikhan said Wednesday.
Over the past two years, unforeseen circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have shown the need for the country to intensify the development of the food and agriculture sectors and increase investment in domestic production, Mendsaikhan said at a national conference "Food Supply and Security-Agriculture" held here.
As part of its post-pandemic New Revival Policy introduced last December, the Mongolian government is taking measures to fully meet the domestic demand for basic food products, such as potatoes, flour and meat, and to become a food exporter, said Mendsaikhan.
For example, the government has decided to provide incentives for growing vegetables and grains, and pay special attention to the construction of warehouses for the harvest, he added.
This year, the landlocked Asian country is expected to fully secure its domestic demand for potatoes, grains and wheat, he said.
In March, the Mongolian government decided to issue a soft loan worth 400 billion Mongolian Tugriks (around 132 million U.S. dollars) for the development of the agricultural sector. ■
