ULAN BATOR, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's total foreign trade fell 16.3 percent year on year in the first eight months of this year, according to data released by the country's National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday.

File photo: AP

Mongolia's foreign trade totaled 7.9 billion US dollars in the January-August period, the NSO said.

The decrease in foreign trade is directly related to restrictive measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, according to experts of the statistical agency.

Mongolia traded with a total of 139 economies around the world in the first eight months of this year.

Among the countries, China maintained its position as Mongolia's biggest trade partner in the above-mentioned period, accounting for 55.8 percent of Mongolia's total foreign trade.