Page | 39With the 2005 termination of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement of Textile and
Clothing, however, Mongolia and many other less developed countries lost their
competitive advantage in the clothing/textile sector as export quotas were lifted.^199
Mongolia’s apparel and textile exports to the U.S. dropped precipitously from USD 225
million in 2004 to USD 2.4 million in 2010.^200 Only the Mongolian garment factories
producing cashmere clothing weathered this storm. The abundant local supply of raw
material (only China produces more raw cashmere than Mongolia) has given Mongolian
companies some advantages in this market, although they face extreme competition from
Chinese cashmere-clothing producers.^201 A few manufacturing operations, mostly in
Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet, also produce wool carpets and blankets.^202
Other significant Mongolian manufacturing segments are food processing and
construction materials. Flour mills, meat-processing factories, and milk and dairy plants
make up the bulk of the small- and medium-sized food operations.
(^203) Non-dairy
beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, are also produced for the local market.204,^205
Among the construction materials produced in Mongolian plants are brick, cement,
reinforced concrete, and lumber.^206
(^199) Keith Yearman and Amy Gluckman, “Falling Off a Cliff,” Dollars&Sense, September 2005,
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2005/0905yearman.html
(^200) U.S. Census Bureau, “U.S. Imports From Mongolia by 5-Digit End-Use Code, 2002-2010,” 2011,
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/imports/c5740.html
(^201) USAID, “Current Status of Mongolian Textile Industry,” June 2007,
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADN868.pdf
(^202) USAID, “Current Status of Mongolian Textile Industry,” June 2007,
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADN868.pdf
(^203) Choimboroljav Sumiyabazar, “Food Industry,” Investment Mongolia, 14 May 2007,
http://investmongolia.blogspot.com/2007/05/food-industry.html
(^204) Choimboroljav Sumiyabazar, “Food Industry,” Investment Mongolia, 14 May 2007,
http://investmongolia.blogspot.com/2007/05/food-industry.html
(^205) Liquid Brands Management, “Sales of Coca-Cola Products in Mongolia Increase 16 Times in 6 Years,
Coca-Cola Press Release, 27 August 2008, http://www.liquidbrandsmanagement.com/coca-cola-opens-
us22-million-new-plant-in-mongolia-2/
(^206) Pang Guek Cheng, “Economy: Construction,” in Cultures of the World: Mongolia (Tarrytown, NY:
Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010), 44.