BRICS Summit 2026: Grain Exchange looks promising, but hurdles remain

Source: Business Standard | Original Published At: 2026-09-13 18:25:50 UTC

Key Points

• The BRICS Grain Exchange was proposed in 2023 as a digital platform and is being championed by Russia.
• The New Delhi Declaration of BRICS reiterated support for the proposal and suggested expanding it to other agricultural products and commodities over time.
• BRICS nations account for about 44% of global grain production and more than 25% of consumption, according to estimates cited in the article.
• Experts say the exchange could challenge the dominance of large European and US-based grain trading firms and give BRICS countries greater influence over global price-setting.
• Potential hurdles include the choice of settlement currency, regulatory oversight, limited participation by some member countries, and India's limited role in globally traded grain commodities.
• Russia is a major wheat and rapeseed exporter, Brazil is a large agricultural exporter, South Africa is an important maize producer, and China and Egypt are structural wheat importers, according to the article.
• One expert said India's participation could be constrained by foreign-exchange regulations and doubts about the exchange becoming an independent global benchmark.