FINAL REPORT

Photos 17-18:Crop Marketing at the Aimag Center, tuv zakh
Photos by J. Hartwig, June 2006
In total up to 200 traders are present during harvest time, many of them selling their own
harvest. In the rest of the year about 50 traders market stored vegetables (potatoes, turnips,
carrots or cabbage) or vegetables imported from china like onions, paprika, tomatoes, and
other crops - depending on availability and prices of locally cultivated crops. Melons,
tomatoes and other vegetables from the Buyant River Delta that can not be stored are only
sold in autumn. The traders reported to add 10-20% to the purchase price and to have a
monthly income between 30,000 and 100,000 MNT. 37 If they possess own storages they have
higher profits because they procure crops when prices are low. Some traders acknowledged
that a few people in the aimag center have storages with high volumes. These purchase high
quantities of crops at harvest time and sell to the traders later on.
Next to the markets at Khovd aimag center, direct sales at the fields are of high importance.
Customers are either local herdsmen or traders from neighbouring sums and aimags. In recent
years especially the demand from western aimags has increased sharply. Either mobile traders
purchase crops from the farmers or local farmers deliver their harvest to the neighbouring
aimag centers where prices of crops were reported to be significantly higher compared with
Khovd. A member of a crop farming cooperative sold crops at the center of Zavkhan and
Govi-Altaiaimag in autumn 2005 for the following prices:
Crops Potatoes Cucumbers Tomatoes Cabbages Melons
Prices
250 600 1,500 400-800 500-600
(MNT)
Table 36: Crop Prices in the Aimag Centersof Govi-Altai and Zavkhan, Autumn 2005
Source: Survey results, June 2006
37 For their stalls in the market halltheypay 300 MNTrent per day in the warm season and 500 MNTin winter.
153