ULAN BATOR, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia exported 54,900 tons of meat and meat products in 2018, a 20-year high, according to a preliminary report released by the country's Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry on Saturday.

The goal set in the Mongolian government's action plan (2016-2020) has been fulfilled, the ministry said in the report.

Animal husbandry is one of the key sectors of the Mongolian economy, as around 40 percent of the country's nomad population depend on animal husbandry for their livelihoods.

The landlocked Asian country exported a total of 26,800 tons of meat in 2017.

Mongolian Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Batzorig Batjargal said in June this year that Mongolia aimed to raise its meat exports tenfold in the coming years in a bid to diversify its heavily mining-dependent economy.