BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICE ASSESSMENT REPORT

− Saint Us NGO always invites local professional inspection & heath department officers for
testing of its attendees for the bakery training. As the food processing sector employees
have to be tested against parasites, the NGO provides the testing services along with its
capacity training. For those who attend in the train from distant soum, this eases their
operation back in soum as they are both trained and tested hygienically.
Consolidation of survey findings, analyses
Business operators for the survey: Half of all respondents never thought of any other businesses
that they are engaged in today, likely affected by the fact that they definitely lack information on
what potential businesses exist and how to use the business opportunities. In other words, there is
a lack of information and knowledge in rural areas on potential business ideas that herding a non
herding businesses should run simultaneously with their existing business.
Sustainable production is also affected by largely domestic sales (most herding businesses sell
their produce on credit terms) and buyers (herders) are often in short of cash. Other fact is that
herding businesses sell their produce for cash to changers.
Market days and stock shows are organized at local level, which was considered as the useful
event by respondents (12).
Most businesses keep track of their financial transactions (16 respondent keep at satisfactory
level) but some simply use notebooks or just receivable notes. Registered entities always submit
their reports to taxation department while remaining businesses would ask the local specialist if
they need to make one further.
Non herding businesses: 9 of the 16 non herding businesses, had an experience of over 10 years,
but only two of them were registered entities. Four of them employ 6-20 people and other
businesses are family based. This demonstrates that production occurs at household level. As a
result, some businesses fail in providing demanded products on market and their average sales
income ranges between, 500 000-3 million MNT annually.
Most wheat planting businesses sell wheat for animal fodder, because there is no difference in the
income level between selling flour and selling wheat for fodder.
Isolation from central market made business operators to think of alternative ways to procure their
raw materials verified by that many businesses go to Ulaanbaatar or Ulaangom themselves for the
first time and identify the raw material they need exactly. For the next time, they ask their friends
and relatives to send similar raw materials. This saves in transportation cost, but there is a certain
drawback as the buyer is not a professional, there are cases that businesses are supplied with low
quality and sub standards raw materials intentionally or mistakenly. This has adverse effect on
products quality, obviously.
Information on equipments is scarce and many businesses use outdated manual equipment. As
soums will be connected to power line soon, there will be more need of efficient and small scale
equipment, simultaneously the businesses will need info regarding the new equipment.
Detailed information on government initiatives (like the third planting campaign) does not reach
local soums so the level of knowledge in soums is heavily reliant on TV news.
Herding businesses: Herding businesses produce dairy only for their household consumption, so
their main income source remains fiber (wool and cashmere) and meat (both meat and animas
sales). Some herders use culling method to improve herd composition (especially those who own
more than 1000 livestock), which is negative to the requirements of large meat processors so the
choice is to sell the meat of culled animals on local market. Fodder and hay grass needs of Uvs
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