By B.BYAMBADORJ

This news report was translated from the “Zuunii Medee” newspaper.
The announcement of the exhibition ‘Mongolian Gifts and Tsagaan Sar’ was definitely welcome news for busy Mongolian citizens just days before the celebration. The exhibition was widely advertised on TV, proclaiming that everything concerning Tsagaan Sar would be on sale there.
Upon our arrival at the exhibition on February 16, the first product that caught our attention was “ul boov” (a sort of Mongolian traditional cake). Last year, the price for one ul boov was 1,200 – 1,500 MNT but this year the cheapest price for the cake was 1,500 MNT.

The purpose of an exhibition was to supply the public with in demand products for the cheapest prices possible. Many exhibitions are held during the Thanksgiving celebration in the United States where products have discounts for their prices. However, the exhibition of Tsagaan Sar was the opposite of this.
The Exhibition included various gifts including wallets, socks, key chains, felt sandals, and leather gloves. It was a disappointment for customers as the Exhibition lacked a wide variety of gifts, and the prices were almost the same as prices outside the exhibition in the general market.
The largest part of Tsagaan Sar is of course dairy products. The price for 1 liter airag (fermented mare’s milk) was 3,000 MNT.

Food Products Unit Price (MNT)
Airag liter 3,000
Dried Curd kg 6,000 – 8,000
Yellow Oil Kg 8,000
Aarts (sour milk) Kg 2,000
Urum (fat collected from milk) each 8,000
Khailmag (a type of oil) kg 3,000
Sea buckthorn kg 5,000
Cranberry Kg 6,500
Sweets Kg 3,400 – 16,000
Sugar cubes (box) each 3,000
Raisin Kg 3,000
Honey each 2,000 – 10,000
White oil kg 6,000
Gifts Unit Price (MNT)
Mongolian socks each 1,500
Wallets each 4,000 – 19,000
Souvenirs each 2,500 – 4,000
Belts each 8,000 – 18,000
Camel fur gloves each 6,000
Leather gloves each 10,000
Key chains each 600 – 2,000
Sandals each 6,000 – 7,000
Copper, brass cups each 7,000 – 18,000