Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have emerged as the top three Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations for growth in exchange-traded turnover with Belarus. Official data for the first half of 2026 shows exchange trade with Kazakhstan grew to 139% year-on-year, while Tajikistan reached 308%, and Turkmenistan spearheaded the surge at 360%.
The figures were presented by Aleksandr Bashliy, Assistant to the Chairman of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUTB), during a briefing with CIS diplomats in Minsk. Organized alongside the Belorussian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI), the meeting aimed to brief foreign diplomats on the operational advantages of leveraging commodity exchanges for cross-border trade.
BUTB Chairman Aleksandr Osmolovsky and BelCCI Chairman Mikhail Myatlikov delivered opening remarks, stressing the need to deepen economic ties within the CIS and urging international partners to tap into the full range of trading tools offered by both institutions.
According to BUTB, CIS-based companies remain key drivers of its international expansion, delivering steady growth in transaction volumes and attracting a continuous stream of new traders.
“Nearly 70% of all Belarusian exports processed through our exchange target the CIS market,” Bashliy noted. “Top-performing commodities among CIS participants include milk powder, butter, timber, meat products, flax fiber, rapeseed oil, and animal feed additives.”
During the Q&A session, BUTB officials guided attendees through trader accreditation, bidding procedures, pricing formulas, settlement mechanisms, and contract enforcement rules.
The briefing concluded with an agreement to establish a direct communication channel between BUTB and CIS embassies, helping inform foreign business circles about market opportunities and bringing more regional enterprises onto the Belarusian trading platform./// nCa, 23 July 2026