A $76m milk deal shows how BRICS expansion is reshaping real trade

What was agreed

According to IOL, Belarus has signed contracts to supply 20,000 tonnes of milk powder to Indonesia by the end of 2026. Part of that supply is intended to feed into Indonesia’s national school feeding initiative, the Free Nutritious Meal programme.

According to IOL, the agreements were signed during Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko’s state visit to Indonesia, and deliveries under the first contract are already underway.

Wider bilateral commitments

According to IOL, the presidential visit produced several other bilateral measures: a visa-free travel regime, plans for direct flights, and a 2026–2030 roadmap covering trade, industry, agriculture and investment, all signed during the same visit.

According to IOL, the visit’s bilateral business forum reportedly generated about $500 million in potential agreements across sectors beyond food.

Trade context

According to IOL, current bilateral trade between Belarus and Indonesia sits at roughly $221 million, and officials on both sides have expressed a desire to grow that figure substantially.

What this means for BRICS

According to IOL, the BRICS grouping’s eleven full members and ten partner countries now account for roughly 55% of the world’s population and about 41% of global GDP on a purchasing-power basis, ahead of the G7’s 28% share. IOL frames the milk deal as an example of expansion producing practical bilateral deals between countries that previously had limited trade ties.

Authors

According to IOL, the article was written by Dr Iqbal Survé and Chloe Maluleke.