Business news

24 May 2022

Farm produce to become major driver of Belarusian exchange exports

An archive photo

MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) - Agricultural products will become the main driver of the Belarusian exchange exports, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) Eduard Belsky said as he spoke at the 13th Dairy Olympics, which is underway in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 22-27 May, BUCE press secretary Roman Yaniv told BelTA.

According to the representative of the exchange, in the conditions of increased demand for food and strengthening trade and economic relations within the Eurasian Economic Union, the exchange mechanism is able to realize the export potential of the Belarusian agro-industrial complex in the most effective way.

“The export of Belarusian agricultural goods amounted to $6.7 billion last year. Milk and dairy products accounted for $2.7 billion of them. These products were supplied to 58 countries, including Kazakhstan and other states of Central Asia. From the point of view of the development of cross-border exchange trade and the diversification of sales markets, this region is of particular interest to us due to its capacity and high purchasing power. Currently, export exchange trading in milk powder and whey, butter, cheeses and other dairy products in demand abroad are held three times a week, and about 300 sellers and buyers participate in each trading session. As a result, over the past 5 years, more than 26,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder and over 22,000 tonnes of butter have been sold over the past five years. We are ready to increase export deliveries, especially since there is a resource for this - all milk processing enterprises of Belarus have been accredited on the exchange,” said Eduard Belsky.

The first deputy chairman of the Board of BUCE also praised the transit opportunities of the exchange platform, thanks to which companies from Kazakhstan could significantly expand the geography of trade and minimize associated risks.

“Taking part in the dairy products trading on a regular basis are companies from the Russian Federation, Armenia, Moldova, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the UK, and Singapore. All of them are potential business partners for Kazakhstani enterprises. For each purchase or sale order you place, we can always collect a pool of stakeholders. Risks in concluding transactions are minimal, since the exchange controls the proper fulfillment of contractual obligations by both parties,” Eduard Belsky stressed.

Dairy Olympics is the largest event in the dairy industry, which annually brings together world-class experts and analysts, milk producers and processors, representatives of industry departments and solution providers to share experiences, discuss current problems of the dairy industry and determine the prospects for the development of the sector. In 2022, the event was organized by The DairyNews agency and the Dairy Market Research Center together with the Dairy Union of Kazakhstan.

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.