Business news

MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) and the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone (Klaipeda FEZ) intend to work together to facilitate the export of Belarusian products, BUCE Press Secretary Roman Yaniv told BelTA.

Prospects of working together to promote Belarusian export were discussed during negotiations with a Lithuanian delegation. The delegation included Commercial Attache of the Lithuanian embassy in Belarus Julijus Glebovas and Klaipeda FEZ Chief Manager for Business Development with China Ugne Urnieziute.

According to Alexander Bashly, Deputy Director of the Strategic Development Department of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, the possibility of delivering Belarusian timber products to China using exchange trade is under consideration. “We participated in the business forum Belarus — A Forest Country in Shanghai in April 2018. The event indicated that there is a demand for Belarusian timber products. The Chinese partners are satisfied with prices and quality of our products. Now we should take care of the matter of logistics. We intend to do that with your assistance, too. Any cooperation options are possible ranging from accreditation as a non-resident exchange broker to the establishment of a joint venture,” Alexander Bashly told members of the Lithuanian delegation.

In turn, Ugne Urnieziute said that raising Chinese investments was a priority area of work for the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone. China is interested in importing quality products from Europe, including raw materials and ready-made products. Using ground transport to deliver freight to China negatively affects prices for end consumers. Meanwhile, transportation by sea costs much lower. “This is why we get a lot of questions from Chinese companies, which are considering investing in production facilities in the free economic zone. Sawn timber enjoys quite strong demand. I think that by uniting the logistics infrastructure of the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone with capabilities of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange we will enable favorable conditions for increasing Belarusian export and bolstering trade and economic relations between our countries,” she noted.

Negotiations on cooperation between the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange and the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone are expected to continue within the framework of the 19^th Belarusian-Lithuanian Economic Forum, which will take place in Vitebsk in early June.

As of 1 May as many as 359 Lithuanian companies were accredited with the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange. The main products the commodity exchange helps export to Lithuania include sawn timber, chip fuel, industrial casein, rapeseed oil, ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap. Meanwhile, Belarusian companies buy coke, coal, soybean meal, poultry meat, and metal products.