MINSK, 2 August (BelTA) – The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) has held the first deal to export powdered milk to Ukraine, BUCE's spokesman Roman Yaniv told BelTA.
During a trading session, a Ukrainian company purchased a trial batch of 40 tonnes of skimmed milk powder worth $108,000 from a Belarusian manufacturer. Earlier, Ukrainian companies mostly purchased scrap metals, building materials, flour and plant seeds at BUCE, and showed no interest in Belarusian dairy products.
“Ukraine is among top five countries in terms of the number of companies accredited on the exchange. In the first half of the year, the number of Ukrainian participants increased by 16% up to 326. The volume of exchange trade with Ukraine significantly expanded as well: in January-June, it reached $24.6 million, up 58% year-on-year. The first deal to purchase Belarusian milk powder by a Ukrainian company is a landmark event in terms of export diversification. This was achieved due to BUCE's efforts to bring new buyers from Ukraine. In particular, the company that took part in the transaction is a large importer of agricultural products to the Ukrainian market. On the other hand, a flexible sales policy of Belarusian dairy processors who offered a competitive price also played a role. As a rule, a trial purchase is usually followed by transactions of a much larger volume. We are counting on it in this case, too,” the BUCE press service noted.
All in all, in H1 2021, the export of milk powder through BUCE rose 4.5 times. The main buyers were companies registered in the Russian Federation.
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.
