President Putin supported the idea of creating a grain exchange for BRICS countries to ensure fair pricing on the global market.

During a meeting with agriculturists, President Vladimir Putin supported the proposal of the Exporters Union to establish a grain exchange for BRICS countries. He expressed confidence that colleagues would be interested in this idea, as there are countries within the BRICS group that both produce and purchase grain crops. The President emphasized the need to consider the proposal and work on it with partners. The President also noted that the US and Europe have a dominant influence on the formation of exchange indices, despite the fact that some other countries, including Russia, produce more grain. He agreed that this is unfair and affects pricing. Therefore, the creation of a BRICS grain exchange and the establishment of price indicators on it are fully justified. The idea of creating a BRICS grain exchange was proposed by the Chairman of the Grain Exporters Union, Eduard Zernin. The Grain Exporters Union submitted their proposal to the Ministry of Agriculture as part of Russia's chairmanship in BRICS in 2024. This proposal envisages the establishment of a grain exchange for BRICS countries, which are the largest producers and consumers of grains. According to the union's calculations, BRICS countries collectively account for about 40% of the world's grain volume. Among them, China, India, Russia, and Brazil are among the top 5 largest grain producers in the world. Furthermore, Russia accounts for 20-25% of global wheat trade, and Brazil for corn. If additional member countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia, join, BRICS' influence on the world grain market will be further strengthened. The Grain Exporters Union noted that the existing infrastructure of the global grain market was formed after World War II, when the US had a dominant position in wheat and corn production and exports. Grain market prices, including those for BRICS countries, are based on grain prices quoted on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) using the US dollar. The authors of the proposal claim that BRICS, as key players in the global grain market, cannot fully influence the pricing of important agricultural products such as wheat, barley, and corn. To change this situation, the authors of the proposal see the opportunity to create a unified trading and clearing infrastructure for BRICS, within which grain trading between companies of member countries will take place on the exchange. They note that Russia has significant experience in creating and developing exchange platforms, such as the Moscow Exchange group, as well as experience in settling transactions in national currencies of BRICS countries and admitting participants from different countries to a unified exchange trading and clearing infrastructure.