- EBRD provides US$ 8 million working capital loan to Ulaanbaatar Flour
- Loan to help improve food security and food safety standards
- Technical support from Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is contributing to greater food security in Mongolia by extending a US$ 8 million (€7.4 million) loan to the country’s leading flour producer, Ulaanbaatar Flour (UBF).
The working capital loan will help UBF, which is fully owned by Tavan Bogd Group, to increase its wheat procurement, including during the harvesting season. The project will also stimulate local wheat and flour production in Mongolia, which is supported by less than one per cent of arable land and relies heavily on imports.
As part of the project, UBF will become the first miller in the country to introduce the FSSC 22000 international standard for food safety management systems, which is aligned with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) management system approach. This will help improve food safety standards and the quality of wheat procurement in Mongolia.
In collaboration with the Institute of Plants and Agriculture, UBF is also committed to developing a training programme for its suppliers in areas such as wheat growing, seed-quality management and advanced fertiliser-application technologies, which is expected to lead to productivity improvements at the farmers’ level as well as supporting better livelihoods.
The project will benefit from technical assistance provided by the Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund.
As at February 2024, the EBRD has invested €2.3 billion in Mongolia’s economy through 140 projects. Around 90 per cent of these funds have been channelled to support private-sector companies.