The main trends of Russian food exports to the BRICS countries

Abstract

The article is about trade cooperation development between Russia and BRICS in the agricultural sector. Recently BRICS countries have been increasing the volume of trade in international markets. Over the past fi ve years the total volume of agricultural exports of these countries has increased by 12,4 percent. Three of the fi ve BRICS countries are among the top ten world exporters. At the same time, the volume of intra-regional trade is insignifi cant and amounts to only about $8 billion. The trade in agricultural and food products within BRICS countries was analyzed, as well as trade of Russia with each of the BRICS countries: China, Brazil, India and the Republic of South Africa. Russia has a negative trade balance with almost all BRICS countries. Trade relations with China are developing most dynamically. Russia has the largest trade turnover with this country ($4.9 billion in 2021) and a positive trade balance. The article considers the potential opportunities for the development of trade relations between Russia and each of the BRICS countries. Further expansion of trade relations involves: creating favorable conditions for the development of mutual trade between countries and direct investment; optimization of the structure of foreign trade turnover in food, technical assistance to increase the production and export potential of the participating countries, convergence of the requirements and practices of customs services, increasing the competitiveness of products by improving their quality and reducing logistics costs.