ULAN BATOR, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's goods trade went up 23.6 percent year-on-year to 11.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2018, official data showed Friday.

Exports rose 14.0 percent year-on-year in the January-November period to 6.5 billion U.S. dollars while imports increased 37.6 percent to 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, the Mongolian National Statistics Office said.

Mining is the main economic sector of the mineral-rich country. The industry accounted for 88.6 percent of total exports in the period, according to the statistical agency.

The landlocked Asian country has traded with a total of 155 countries in the first 11 months of this year and exported its goods and services to over 70 countries among them.