NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 6 April (BelTA) – In Q1 2023 the volume of deals closed by Russian companies at the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) increased by 55% from Q1 2022 to over $58 million. Aleksandr Bashliy, Head of BUCE's Foreign Relations Office, mentioned it during a session of the Kuzbass Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the BUCE press service told BelTA. The videoconference session focused on peculiarities and prospects of trade with CIS states. Representatives of the private sector of Russia's Kemerovo Oblast took part in the session.
In January-March 2023 for the first time on record Kemerovo Oblast came in second in terms of the volume of exchange transactions among all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation represented at BUCE. Aleksandr Bashliy noted: “Growth was driven by sales of Kuzbass coal to Belarusian civil engineering companies. The total volume of transactions with this commodity amounted to $10.8 million. Certainly, considering the scale of coal mining in Kemerovo Oblast, the figure is modest for now, but it is a good start one way or another. Moreover, power-generating coal enjoys steady demand in exchange trade. Exchange-facilitated sales of power-generating coal on the country's domestic market amounted to the equivalent of $56.3 million in 2022 and $24.4 million in Q1 2023.”
According to the BUCE representative, it is necessary to step up efforts with regard to other commodity groups, which could fuel further development of exchange trade between Belarus and Russia's Kemerovo Oblast. The head of BUCE's Foreign Relations Office stressed: “The Belarusian exchange market will be surely interesting for Kuzbass metal manufacturers and metal traders because ferrous metal products represent one of the most popular groups of commodities on our trade platform. Meanwhile, sales dynamics has been steadily positive for the last few years. In Q1 2023 the growth rate reached 126%. If we talk about shipments of Belarusian products to Kemerovo Oblast, those are various vehicles, machines, equipment, parts and components, tires, textile, food, and other non-resource-based commodities, which can be acquired via the BUCE's import substitution platform. The platform has been operating since June 2022. Since then it has had time to become a popular tool for purchases for Belarusian and Russian companies.”
The public joint-stock company (OAO) Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange was established in 2004. The first trade sessions took place 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.
