Belarus' commodity exchange to build closer ties with Russia's Volgograd Oblast

The event was arranged with the help of the Export Support Center of Volgograd Oblast and was meant to forge new business contacts and strengthen trade and economic ties between business communities of the two countries.

According to BUCE First Deputy Chairman of the Board Andrei Novikov, increasing the exchange trade with the Russian Federation is one of the priority tasks for BUCE in 2021. “Since the beginning of the year, the exchange trade with Russia amounted to about $22 million, up 3.5 times year-on-year. The key drivers of growth were Belarus-made cement, milk powder and rapeseed oil. In addition, such a promising area as transit deals is gaining momentum. Just a few days ago, a company from Bryansk Oblast sold a batch of sawn timber worth nearly €300,000 to the Baltic States, and in November last year a Russian producer of rapeseed oil sold products worth €1.1 million to the European Union. Earlier transactions of this kind were rare, while now they take place nearly every week,” Andrei Novikov said.

Following the talks, several companies from Volgograd Oblast said they would like to sell their products through the industrial and consumer goods section at BUCE. There are plans to consider auctioning products for the construction industry, packaging materials and food products.

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.