Belarus, Russia's Samara Oblast to develop exchange trade in import-substituting goods

During the visit of a business delegation from Samara Oblast to the central office of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, the parties discussed the possibilities of expanding the application of the exchange mechanism in trade between Belarus and this Russian region. Import substitution is considered as a priority area of interaction that can ensure a significant increase in the amount of exchange transactions.

According to the parties, the concentration of supply and demand of Belarusian and Samara enterprises on the BUCE electronic platform will create favorable conditions for the establishment of long-term cooperation ties and provide an additional channel for the sale and purchase of import-substituting products that are in demand in Belarus and Samara Oblast. Given the high development level of the mechanical engineering and petrochemical industries in the region, the focus will be on the involvement of manufacturers of spare parts and components for motor vehicles, and also suppliers of industrial equipment and polymer products in the exchange trade.

The regional chamber of commerce and industry, which has the status of an exchange broker since March 2023, will assist in filling the BUCE trading system with applications for sale and purchase from Samara enterprises. Aleksei Popov, vice-president of the Samara Oblast Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed the readiness to intensify work on import substitution. According to him, there are a number of small companies and individual entrepreneurs among the chamber members, for whom the BUCE platform can become an alternative entry point to the Belarusian market.

According to him, since the accreditation of the Samara Oblast Chamber of Commerce and Industry as an exchange broker, a large-scale campaign has been conducted to inform small and medium-sized businesses about the advantages of using exchange trading as one of the tools of export promotion. “In addition, we also recommend Samara enterprises to integrate the exchange mechanism into their procurement activities in order to promptly find and purchase analogs of imported products manufactured in Belarus or in other regions of the Russian Federation. Over the past year and a half, the business community has become more flexible and more active in implementing new digital solutions, so there are plenty of people willing to try trading on the exchange,” Aleksei Popov said.

Founded in 2004, the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange conducted its first trading session in June 2005. BUCE is one of the largest commodity exchanges in Eastern Europe. Its main function is to assist Belarusian enterprises with export and foreign companies with entering the Belarusian market. BUCE sells a wide range of metal, forestry, and agricultural products, industrial and consumer goods.

Some 60 Samara companies are accredited at BUCE today. Nine of them started bidding in 2023. In January-October 2023, the amount of transactions of Samara Oblast residents increased by 14% year-on-year. Imports of metal products for the Belarusian industrial and construction sectors form the basis of the exchange trade between Belarus and Samara Oblast. These are mainly stainless pipes, galvanized wire, bearings, and copper anodes.