Photo courtesy of the press service of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange
MINSK, 19 March (BelTA) – Commodity exchanges of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on the recognition and dissemination of exchange price indices as part of the efforts to create an international commodity market indice system (IMIS). The signing ceremony took place in Moscow on the sidelines of the 10th international forum Exchange Commodity Market organized by the St. Petersburg Exchange, the press service of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange told BelTA.
The agreement was joined by the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE), the Eurasian Trading System Commodity Exchange, the St. Petersburg Exchange, and the Uzbek Commodity Exchange (UzEx). The document stipulates a mechanism for the mutual recognition of national indices by participating exchanges; the main criteria that indices need to meet and the methodology for their calculation for the sake of inclusion into the IMIS; the procedure for the participating exchanges to interact in the course of disseminating the indices that have been included into the IMIS.
“The signed document symbolizes the transition to a new stage in the development of the exchange commodity market within the EAEU+ space. Together with colleagues from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan we have done extensive work to harmonize the approaches and methodologies applied at the national level, laying a solid foundation for the creation and operation of an international system of exchange indices,” noted Aleksandr Osmolovsky, Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, as he commented on the significance of the agreement for stepping up inter-exchange cooperation and accelerating integration processes in the commodity markets of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states and Uzbekistan.
“In other words, the quotes and indices generated on our platforms will now serve as clear and publicly accessible price benchmarks for businesses in the participating countries, and as the system matures, confidence in these instruments will only grow. Furthermore, it is important to note the open nature of the system we are creating. This means that any exchange operating in commodity markets can join it after completing the procedure for the recognition of its indices. Thus, another important step has been taken towards harmonizing pricing mechanisms in our countries, which will contribute to the further strengthening of trade and economic relations, and will increase the transparency, efficiency, and predictability of cross-border trade,” emphasized Aleksandr Osmolovsky.
For nearly two years the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange has been actively working to establish a national system of price indices in Belarus. Thus, in 2024 with the participation of experts in statistics, economics, pricing, and exchange trading as well as the scientific community a methodology was developed for calculating price indices based on exchange transactions. And in February 2025 after the methodology was agreed upon with sectoral ministries and the National Statistical Committee these indices began to be published monthly and were made publicly available on the BUCE website. In February 2026 BUCE expanded its range of exchange market indices and began publishing indices calculated based on data about over-the-counter transactions involving exchange-traded commodities.
At present the BUCE website features aggregate and individual price indices for key commodity groups that account for the largest share of the exchange’s trade volume. In the domestic market these include ferrous metals and products made from them, round unprocessed timber, and oilseed meal. In the foreign market they include sawn timber, dry milk, butter, casein, and rapeseed oil.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange was established in 2004, with its first trading session conducted in June 2005. BUCE is one of the largest mercantile exchanges in Eastern Europe. Its key function is to assist Belarusian companies with exporting their products and assist foreign companies with entering the Belarusian market. The commodity exchange facilitates trade in metals, timber, agricultural products, and a broad choice of industrial and consumer goods.
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