MINSK, 2 August (BelTA) - The commodity exchange mechanism is effective for the development of import substitution and trade in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko told the media in Minsk on 2 August, BelTA has learned.
"Using the models of joint exchange platforms, we are testing the models of future common markets for electricity, energy and so on. I the Union State we had this idea of setting up a unified exchange, but then it was abandoned. Now, most likely, it will be implemented in the form of a cooperation agreement. Goods will be offered to national buyers in order to meet the needs of the domestic market as a matter of priority. If the entire volume is not sold, the goods will be transferred to the general union exchange or the EAEU exchange. Consultations are under way in this regard. So far, the final mechanism has not been determined, but the potential is definitely there," Roman Golovchenko said.
According to him, the mission of Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange is to promote sales of Belarusian products, eliminate unjustified intermediation, increase the return on transactions making them simpler and more understandable, and protect the interests of sellers and buyers. It is also important to harness the potential of import substitution. "BUCE is a fairly effective tool. In recent years, it has posted high volumes of sales, about Br10 billion in total. The exchange has 29,000 customers who make export and import operations. BUCE has gathered a good pace but there is still a lot of work to be done in this direction," the prime minister said.
In May, Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange launched a new tool for business: an import substitution platform. "For the two months, it has posted quite impressive results: more than 4,500 transactions worth more than Br35 million. If we talk about the advantages, only verified sellers are allowed to the platform, the search for goods is as automated as possible, the cost of service is lower than on other similar platforms. We need to promote this platform, because it is a very effective mechanism for prompt import substitution," Roman Golovchenko emphasized.
Chairman of the Board of BUCE Aleksandr Osmolovsky noted that thanks to the import substitution platform, enterprises has gotten access to a large selection of goods with which they faced difficulties on the heels of Western sanctions. "I think that in the future, the projects that we are currently working on will increase the potential of the platform and will drive up sales,” he informed.
