MINSK, 6 August (BelTA) - The U.S. has topped the list of the largest buyers of casein on the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE), BUCE spokesman Roman Yaniv told BelTA.
“In January-July this year, the export of casein through the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange increased by almost 2.5 times year-on-year, reaching $2.1 million. More than half of this amount was purchased by companies from the United States, which use Belarusian edible and industrial casein for the production of sport nutrition, paints, glue, plastic products. The export of casein to the U.S. market surged by 2.2 times as against January-July of last year,” Roman Yaniv said.
In addition to the United States, the top three buyers of Belarusian casein (mostly industrial one) include Germany and Poland, with the sum of transactions at $0.6 million and $0.3 million respectively.
Foreign companies stepped up activities in mid-May 2020. Prior to that, for about five months, there were virtually no transactions on this commodity position. “The upward trend, which began three months ago, is due to the favorable conditions in foreign markets, especially in the United States. The shortage of casein in the wake of the fall in production in the main exporting countries has fueled the demand for the products of the Belarusian dairy processing industry and contributed to the growth of stock quotations on the BUCE,” the spokesman said.
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.
As of 1 August, 22 U.S. companies were accredited at the BUCE. In 2020, they bought timber, casein and scrap of ferrous and non-ferrous metals at the BUCE.
