Yaroslav Kovalchuk: Exchange trade turnover between Belarus and Azerbaijan may reach $100 million in 2026 — INTERVIEW

The economic partnership between Belarus and Azerbaijan is currently expanding beyond traditional trade ties, moving into the realm of high-tech exchange instruments. With total trade turnover exceeding $400 million, the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) is becoming the foundation for transparent pricing and secure cross-border transactions. A sharp increase in food exports and an expanding pool of Azerbaijani clients demonstrate the deep integration of the two countries' businesses into a single digital trading environment.

How have Belarusian vegetable oil exports increased more than 30-fold in monetary terms? When will direct contracts with cotton producers replace intermediaries? Will 2026 be a record year for exchange turnover? Yaroslav Kovalchuk, head of the BUCE's Foreign Economic Activity Department, answered these and other questions in an exclusive interview with Report.

Report presents the interview:

- According to statistics from Azerbaijan's State Customs Service, by the end of 2025, trade turnover between the two countries will exceed $400 million. Given the current dynamics in the agricultural sector, what final figures for Azerbaijan do you expect to reach in 2026?

- I am authorized to answer only about the amount of exchange transactions between our countries. Given the current dynamics, we are capable of reaching $100 million in exchange trade turnover this year. Everything depends on the degree of business involvement in exchange trading on both the Azerbaijani and Belarusian sides.

We can confirm that today, the business communities of our countries are increasingly turning to exchange trading and actively using the BUCE's tools, which ensure fair market pricing, transaction execution control, comprehensive technical support, and access to analytical information that enables the development of a sound business strategy.

Most importantly, we work in the interests of our clients and are ready to provide a wide range of tools and services to improve the efficiency of business between Azerbaijan and Belarus.

- The 16th meeting of the Belarusian-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission, along with a corresponding business forum, is taking place in Minsk on June 2-3. Will the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange participate in these events, and what are the expectations from the meeting with Azerbaijani businesses?

- Of course, at the invitation of the organizers, the management of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange will participate in the Belarusian-Azerbaijani Business Forum on June 2, where they will present the full range of exchange instruments and opportunities for cooperation to the Azerbaijani delegation.

The following day, June 3, with the support of AZPROMO, a number of Azerbaijani companies will visit the exchange office. During individual meetings, we will discuss in detail how our platform can facilitate and increase the efficiency of doing business in the Belarusian market.

Expectations for the meeting are high: we see growing interest in the Belarusian market, both from the import of our products and the export of Azerbaijani products.

We are paying special attention to language support: recently, an Azerbaijani-speaking employee joined our team, which will allow us to build even more effective and comfortable interactions with our partners.

- Yaroslav, last October you gave us an interview and discussed the statistics of exchange trade between Azerbaijan and Belarus for the first three quarters, including some forecasts for its development. I would like to ask you to summarize the results of the first quarter of this year. Has the structure of exchange trade between Azerbaijan and Belarus changed? If so, how?

- First, on behalf of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, I would like to thank the editorial team of Report for their interest in our platform. As of today, our clients include 218 business entities from Azerbaijan.

Since our last interview, we have added 42 companies to our Azerbaijani client base. And, in support of our October forecast, Azerbaijani businesses have shown a significant increase in interest in agricultural products sold through the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange.

Thus, while Belarusian agricultural exports on our exchange accounted for only 3% of total exchange turnover in the first three quarters of 2025, this figure has already risen to 11% by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

This was due to a 3.6-fold increase in exchange exports of powdered milk and a 34.5-fold increase in butter in monetary terms, compared to the first quarters of 2025 and 2026.

- Last year, you mentioned the potential of halal-certified meat products. Have you managed to make this sector a growth driver this year, or is lumber and dairy products still driving the bulk of the volume?

- Meat export figures for the first quarter of 2026 are comparable to the same period last year. However, it is important to note that among the newly accredited companies, there are potential buyers of Belarusian-produced meat products. As you rightly noted, lumber and dairy products are at the forefront of exchange exports to Azerbaijan, with the latter having significantly increased in volume recently.

- You recently attended agricultural exhibitions in Baku. Were you successful in reaching potential exporters? Which Azerbaijani products are currently most in demand on exchange trades in Belarus?

- One of the main goals of our participation in the InterFood Azerbaijan and Caspian Agro Week 2026 exhibitions in May 2026 was to find producers of fruits, dried fruits, nuts, fruit purees, and juice concentrates for the Belarusian market. Several Azerbaijani exporters of these products are currently in the accreditation process.

- You previously noted that Azerbaijani products (cotton, aluminum) entered the exchange through intermediaries. Has this situation changed since the data was transferred to AZPROMO and KOBIA? Are there any initial examples of direct contracts between Azerbaijani factories and the BUCE?

- We are currently actively recruiting these producers to the exchange. The only limiting factor is the relatively low volume of exchange imports of these products from Azerbaijan, which is why these volumes are listed through intermediaries. As supply volumes increase, the need for intermediaries will certainly disappear.

- Last year, immediately after participating in BakuBuild, you accredited an Azerbaijani broker, MERA LLC. How do you rate its effectiveness based on the results of the first quarter of 2026? Are there plans to expand the network, perhaps in the regions of Azerbaijan?

- MERA is currently one of our largest clients for Belarusian sawn timber products and, more recently, a reliable channel for attracting new clients from Azerbaijan, including buyers of Belarusian agricultural products. I believe that by the end of this year, we will be able to share the results of our cooperation in more detail.

When expanding our brokerage network, we always evaluate how effectively each broker facilitates the growth of exchange trade turnover. If we see significant potential for developing cooperation, we are open to expanding our partner network both in Baku and in other regions of Azerbaijan.