Russia boosting trade with fellow BRICS nation

Trade between Russia and Brazil surged to record volumes in December despite Western sanctions as fellow BRICS countries continue expanding economic ties, RIA Novosti reported this week.  

Turnover between the countries nearly doubled year-on-year, reaching $1.6 billion in December, the outlet said, citing data from the Brazilian statistics service. The vast majority of that volume – $1.5 billion – represented Brazilian imports from Russia, largely consisting of petroleum products.  

Although Russian-Brazilian trade volumes were the highest the two countries have registered in dollar terms in their modern history, the figure remains relatively modest compared with the turnover Russia has achieved with other BRICS members.

For example, trade with India had reached $55 billion over the first 10 months of 2023, according to the latest available data. If annualized, this would put the average monthly volume at around $5.5 billion.  

In 2022, Russia became Brazil’s fifth largest foreign trade partner, up from 11th in 2021.

Russia has significantly ramped up exports of oil products to Brazil, with deliveries reaching a record 1.5 million tons last year, worth $1.14 billion, becoming the country’s largest fuel supplier, outpacing the US and the Netherlands.   

In an effort to build new markets, Moscow has been working to position itself as a leading fuel exporter to Brazil since the EU and G7 imposed an embargo accompanied by price caps on Russian oil and petroleum products last February, the outlet said.  

The Western ban on Russia’s seaborne exports of crude and oil products triggered a reshuffle in the global oil supply, prompting Moscow to pivot to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.   

Brazil only recognizes sanctions issued by the UN Security Council, meaning it does not comply with restrictions imposed by some countries on Russia. The Latin American country is rapidly expanding its trade ties with Moscow in other commodities as well. In December, Brazil imported over $300 million worth of fertilizer and $10 million worth of uranium from Russia, the statistics showed.

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