Supported by the German Engineering Federation VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau) and other internationally active organisations, the capital goods trade fair Future Mongolia will be held from 16 to 19 May of 2012 in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. This will provide new sales opportunities for manufacturers of agricultural machinery.
“What we need,” says His Excellency Baldorj Davaadorj, “is the latest machinery and cultivating technology.” Baldorj Davaadorj is the Mongolian ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. The farmers in his country, he explains, are increasingly establishing cooperatives. The number of large agricultural operations and thus the need for appropriate machinery is constantly growing. Davaadorj therefore hopes that, in addition to manufacturers of other capital goods, many producers of agricultural machinery will also use the opportunity to present their machinery and equipment at the Future Mongolia trade fair in Ulan Bator, a city of one million people. His government is expressly supporting the trade fair.
With an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometres, about half the size of the Indian subcontinent, Mongolia is one of the world’s largest countries. Around 73% of its territory is suitable for agriculture, and is used primarily as pasture land for animal husbandry, which in some cases is already highly specialised. In the year 2009, the livestock consisted of around 43 million animals, including approximately 18 million sheep and 20 million goats, as well as cattle (2.5 million), horses (2.2 million) and camels (270,000). The main products are wool, milk, leather and meat. Arable farming currently takes place on approximately 840,000 hectares, of which a large proportion, around 250,000 hectares, is used for grain cultivation. Forage crops, potatoes and vegetables are grown in the remaining areas. Practically the entire agricultural sector is privately owned. There are now just under 1100 arable farms in the country, which has a population of around 2.7 million. In 2009 approximately 360,000 people, almost one-third of those employed, worked in agriculture.
The vast majority of machines and equipment being used date back to the time of the Soviet Union, and are thus hopelessly out of date, are scarcely capable of being repaired, and urgently need to be replaced. The investments required are subsidised by the Mongolian state, by up to 50%. According to Stefan Fischer, Managing Director of the Germany-based VF Messe GmbH, which is organising the Future Mongolia trade fair, as well as involving other areas of industry, the fair aims to provide agricultural operations in Mongolia with the opportunity of gaining an overview of worldwide offerings of state-of-the-art agricultural machinery on site, in their capital city of Ulan Bator. Other sectors participating in the fair include machinery for construction, construction materials and mining, municipal, environmental and energy technology, financing, and transport technology. Fischer states that the country offers “very good prospects” for manufacturers of capital goods, particularly in the medium and long term. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits, which are increasingly being developed and exploited. Except in the case of declining commodity prices, this ensures an increasing flow of money into the public purse.
The Future Mongolia trade fair will be held in the Buyant Ukhaa sport complex in the immediate vicinity of the international airport. A total of 3000 square metres of indoor space and 4500 square metres of outdoor space are available. Fischer anticipates that manufacturers will exhibit their products and services in either their own or shared national pavilions. If more space is required, the outdoor area can be doubled to 9000 square metres. More detailed information about the trade fair and application forms for exhibitors can be found on the Internet, at www.future-mongolia.com.
