Committee approves agricultural market draft, with questions

The Standing Committee on Food and Agriculture yesterday approved the law draft to set up an agricultural raw material exchange and will now submit it to Parliament for approval. Some MPs, including E.Bat-Uul and Ts.Bayarsaikhan, felt the draft was incomplete and wanted clearer regulations on how the exchange will work.
Bat-Uul said herders wanting to sell 10 or 20 sheep would not get a fair price in an exchange market where the demand was for two million sheep. The small supplier has to be protected against big traders. B.Batbayar differed and said the exchange would benefit all, including those with just two or more animals to sell.

All transactions will be electronic and many MPs doubted how effective this would be in soums in the countryside. Some training is planned for those who will run the exchange in the capital. Some MPs recalled how similar agricultural raw material markets had failed in the 1990s because they did not have enough storage facilities.

Members felt proper hygienic certification was needed to increase export of Mongolian livestock products and were told of plans to build a proper laboratory.

Ts.Shinebayar wanted clear provisions suggesting steps against those violating the exchange regulations and wanted a time table to be indicated for the market to be operational.

The draft says the market will be set up with state budget financing and privatized after some time but there is no indication when this will be. Some MPs also expressed doubt that warehouses built with state funds in the countryside would be of much use.