The BRICS group of countries, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have expressed support for an initiative to establish a grain exchange, according to the Russian Minister of Agriculture, Oksana Lut.
The proposed grain exchange would allow buyers to purchase directly from producers, a concept that has been backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the BRICS summit to be held in Russia in October.
“We will work together with our colleagues on creation and development of this platform and the development of the possibility of settlements in national currencies of the BRICS countries,” Lut said after a meeting of BRICS agriculture ministers held in Moscow.
The BRICS grouping accounts for more than 30% of global agricultural land, over 40% of global cereal and meat production, nearly 40% of dairy products, and more than 50% of total fish and seafood production. Lut also noted that last year, the BRICS countries accounted for more than a third of Russia’s exports of agro-industrial products, amounting to $15 billion.
The creation of a BRICS-backed grain exchange is seen as a move to potentially challenge the dominance of Western-centric commodity trading platforms and facilitate trade in national currencies among the member countries, rather than using the U.S. dollar.