Business news
European Union’s share in merchandise export via BUCE past 80% in January-July
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MINSK, 14 August (BelTA) – In January-July 2020 companies from countries of the European Union bought $207 million worth of merchandise via the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE). The figure makes up 84% of the entire merchandise export via BUCE, BelTA has learned.
The top three buyers are Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland with the sum of the deals at $140 million. Woodworking industry products such as sawn timber, wooden intermediate goods for making packaging and containers, and wood chips attracted the strongest demand and accounted for over 90% of the volume of foreign trade with the European Union. The share of other commodities continues rising. For instance, Lithuania increased the acquisition of scrap metal and ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste by 28% to $4.1 million. The export of Belarusian colza oil to Latvia increased by more than 10 times to $2.2 million.
Some European Union countries started using BUCE to buy products, which used to be imported only via direct contracts. In particular, Poland was the top buyer of metal products and doubled the acquisition of Belarusian construction materials (up to $6.3 million).
According to Aleksandr Bashly, Head of the International Relations and Communications Department of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, the considerable share of the European market in export via BUCE can be attributed to tight trade and economic ties and convenient logistics. He noted: “Today sawn timber represents the foundation of export via BUCE. These products enjoy a strong demand all over the world, however, the lack of access to sea complicates work to expand target markets. This is why Belarusian wood boards are often shipped to Baltic states and then to Asia, Africa, and other regions via the ports of Klaipeda, Riga, or Liepaja.”
However, the volume of export deals with goods delivered directly to end buyers has been on the rise recently. In particular, by working together, BUCE, Bellesexport, and Bremino Group have managed to establish strong trade links with China this year. Nearly $2 million worth of sawn timber was sold to China in January-July. “In the future we intend to establish regular deliveries to other markets with a high profit margin,” Aleksandr Bashly 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 many as 4,769 foreign companies were accredited with BUCE as of 1 August 2020, including 445 companies from Lithuania, 378 from Latvia, 336 from Poland, 155 from Estonia, and 94 from Germany.
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