ProValue in collaboration with the National Wool Association published the brochure “Creating added value through sheep wool processing” with practical information on electrical sheep shearing, the functioning of the Centre for Sheep Shearing and Animal Hygiene in Erdenebulgan Soum and harvesting techniques of Yak wool.

Approximately 90 representatives of the Mongolian wool industry as well as repre-sentatives of government organizations participated in the seminar “Value creation in wool processing”. The seminar was jointly organized by the National Wool Associa-tion and ProValue. Besides presenting the functioning of the Center for Sheep Shear-ing and Animal Hygiene established with ProValue support in Erdenebulgan Soum/Arkhangai Aimak, the topics discussed included processing techniques of Yak Wool, sustainability in cashmere production and processing as well as experiences of projects supported by the Asian Development Bank in promoting agricultural value chains.

Dr. Gerelchuluun Turmunkh, Director of the Food Research Center of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, provided training on quality management of laboratories according to the ISO 17025:2017 standard. The event was directed at the staff of the laboratory of the Inspection Agency of Uvs aimak as well as laboratory staff of two local companies (20 participants in total).

The sea buckthorn cluster group in Ulaangom formally established a sea buckthorn production co-operative. Its purpose is to develop a sea buckthorn plantation which is fully compliant with GlobalGAP standards.

7 members of the sea buckthorn cluster group in Uvs have taken part in the Guang-zhou Industrial Fair. As a result of the visit some members managed to establish con-tacts with potential suppliers of machinery, have requested price quotations, bought smaller devices and concluded purchase contracts.

German expert Mrs. Sigrid Bannier conducted a further of 8 felt producers from Tset-serleg and surrounding soums in systematic planning of the production of felt products as a means to ensuring replicability. It addition the work on modern designs contin-ued.

Dr. Friedrich Höhne, agricultural researcher and Germany’s leading expert in sea buck-thorn cultivation, conducted training on sea buckthorn cultivation techniques and in-troduced sea buckthorn farmers into the requirements of the GlobalGAP standard. He also paid visits to various sites and gave practical hints for improvements. He reached out to 41 participants.

ProValue and UNIDO jointly conducted training in electrical shearing techniques in Khovd for 20 Mongolian shearers. The trainers were experts based in Australia and New Zealand. The event was conducted as part of ProValue’s efforts to disseminate successful models in the sheep wool and sea buckthorn industries nationwide.

3 felt producers have exported a set of 100 hat blanks to Germany. The buyers were a group of female German felt producers who will develop fine hats from the blanks. The export was the result of previous trainings felt producers from Tsetserleg had tak-en part in, which focused on quality and innovation.

Mr. Niklot Pagels, manufacturer of sea buckthorn products from Germany, conducted training on products from sea buckthorn new to most manufacturers in Uvs: various fruit spreads (marmalade), cocktails, sea buckthorn salt, vinegars and sea buckthorn milk shakes. The event counted with 20 participants who highly enjoyed the hands-on nature of the training.

The Centre for Sheep Shearing and Animal Hygiene was opened in Erdenebulgan Soum in June 2017. The center is managed by the “White Gold” cooperative. In the third year of its existence an increase in the use of its services was recorded. 7,800 sheep (4,565 in 2018) of 48 herder families (36 in 2018) were shorn and 4,300 sheep (3,500 in 2018) were dipped as a measure against parasite infection. 10 persons have worked in the center during shearing season in June and July.

The branch office of MNCCI in Arkhangai coordinated the making of a video on the Center for Sheep Shearing and Animal Hygiene in Erdenebulgan Soum. It is available on YouTube following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_SIvVBsY2I

The National Wool Association and ProValue have jointly conducted the forum “Quality of raw sheep wool and standards for the preparation of raw wool for pro-cessing” in Khotont Soum of Arkhangai Aimak. The event was attended by 110 repre-sentatives of the wool industry, various soums of the aimak as well as of the Depart-ment of Agriculture of the aimak administration. Topics discussed related to current developments related to the wool bonus, current developments of livestock produc-tion, the functioning of the Center for Sheep Shearing and Animal Hygiene in Erdenebulgan Soum, protection of animal health and factors impacting of the quality of raw wool. In addition the participant visited the wool washing plant in Khotont Soum and took part in a practical demonstration of electrical sheep shearing.

This third training of German expert Mrs. Sigrid Bannier focused on thin felt products applicable for fine garments such as jackets and vests. She demonstrated that felt can be used to produce high-end clothes closely resembling cashmere and yak wool quali-ty.

The administration of Uvs Aimak and the sea buckthorn cluster group of Uvs con-ducted the third Sea Buckthorn Festival in Ulaangom.