Russian official: BRICS will become a platform for grain trading without the US dollar

According to Russia's Sputnik news agency, Vladimir Petrichenko, head of Russian research firm Proserno, said, `` BRICS can become a platform for creating a grain market that excludes the US dollar and does not require imports from other countries.BRICS member countries... "We hold a large share of the global grain market , and now is our best opportunity to capitalize on that position." He continued, ``According to statistics, Russia produces 25% of the world's wheat . Brazil also produces 25% of the corn and about 58% of the world's traded soybeans.'' .On the other hand, China is the world's largest importer of corn and wheat." Russia also announced last month that it would remove the US dollar from grain transactions among BRICS members, allowing them to choose a suitable currency for each transaction. According to statistics from RUSGRAIN/Russian Grain Export Union, the five BRICS member countries will consume a total of 1.17 billion tons of grain per year as of the end of 2023, which is more than the total world grain production. and 40% of total grain consumption. The association also says that if BRICS were to expand, the total annual grain production of its member countries would reach 1.23 billion tonnes, or 44% of the world's total, and consumption would be roughly equal to production. BRICS was initially made up of five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but in August 2023, it expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Argentina, and Ethiopia in January 2024. Approved to add new members. However, Argentina withdrew its participation in BRICS after new president Javier Millay took office. Five other Arab countries have recently expressed their intention to join BRICS: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, the Maghreb, and Palestine .