Russia and Brazil have started trading in national currencies, Rodrigo de Lima Baena Soares, the ambassador of the South American state to the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. Currently, the share is 5-10%, but countries are working to increase it. The Russian Federation is actively developing trade in national currencies with BRICS and EAEU members. In general, Moscow has already managed to convert half of its transactions with foreign countries into rubles, according to the Central Bank’s open data. According to experts, this provides greater security against the background of Western sanctions, and also contributes to the development of the country’s financial technologies.
The share of national currencies in trade between Russia and Brazil
The share of trade in national currencies between Russia and Brazil is still at around 5-10%, however, both countries are interested in increasing this percentage, Rodrigo de Lima Baena Soares, Ambassador of the South American state to the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.
— The increase in this number depends not only on governments, but also on the companies themselves. But we are discussing this issue within BRICS. We are trying to trade in national currencies with Russia and are working to increase this percentage,” the diplomat said, noting that most transactions are still conducted in dollars.
This is already a noticeable progress in economic relations between the two countries. Until recently, Brazil remained the last founding country of the BRICS, which has not started trading in national currencies. A year ago, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said at a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in Nizhny Novgorod that such payments were not carried out between Moscow and Brasilia. At the same time, in an interview with Izvestia, he said that Brazilian companies would pay for gas and oil from the Russian Federation through the mechanism of national currencies.
At the same time, Brazil is an important economic partner of Russia in the Latin American region. The trade turnover between the two countries increased by 9.3% in 2024, reaching $12.4 billion. The figure was a record for the two countries, with Russia among Brazil’s top ten trading partners. Moreover, the growth was recorded in both directions.: Russian exports to Brazil increased by 9.5%, reaching $10.96 billion, while Brazilian exports to Russia increased by 8.2%, to $1.45 billion.
By the way, Brazil is actively promoting the idea of de-dollarization within the BRICS, where the country is chairing this year. It is possible that an increase in the percentage of trade in national currencies between the members of the association will be discussed at the summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7. In addition, at a ministerial meeting in late April, the foreign ministers of the BRICS countries already supported the use of national currencies and instructed finance ministers and central bank governors to develop appropriate settlement mechanisms.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow already conducts 90% of trade with the countries of the association in national currencies. “BRICS is working to ensure uninterrupted payments. We can talk about good results. For example, the share of the ruble and the currencies of friendly countries amounted to 90% in Russia’s settlements with the BRICS countries by the end of 2024,” Lavrov said.
Trade of the Russian Federation in national currencies with other countries
Russia is increasing trade, minimizing the use of the dollar, and with the new BRICS countries. For example, 40% of transactions with Egypt are carried out in national currencies, and almost all of them were able to switch to such calculations with Iran.
Active work is also underway with members of other important integration associations for the Russian Federation, such as the EAEU. According to Vladimir Putin, the figure reached 93%, and the total volume of trade doubled, reaching $97 billion.
In general, according to the results of the first quarter of 2025, almost half of the revenues for the export of goods and services came from Russian rubles (45.6%), according to the data of the Bank of Russia, 17.2% — from local currencies of states. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2024, rubles accounted for only 39.5%, and in the same period in 2023 — 37.5%,
Moreover, the best results were achieved in trade relations with the Caribbean countries — 99% of payments for Russian goods are made in rubles. High results are also achieved with African countries: this figure is 91.8%.
The main advantage of trading in national currencies is that the beginning and end of the transaction are always known, and no actions from unfriendly countries will affect the ability to receive money, explains Georgy Ostapkovich, Research director of the HSE Center for Economic Research and Economic Development.
— If you work in dollar or euro mode, you may have force majeure situations during the course of calculations: the calculation may get stuck, it will not go through SWIFT, because most Russian banks are disconnected from this system. The advantage is that it is a guaranteed payment system. The disadvantage is that the payment can take a long time and may cost more,” the expert tells Izvestia.
Another obvious advantage of making payments in national currencies is the internationalization of the ruble, that is, its strengthening, says Anton Sviridenko, executive director of the Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics. In addition, the use of rubles in trade gives greater freedom, since Russia can give itself loans through state and non-state mechanisms and independently decide how much money can be raised for trade purposes.
— We are now developing new financial technologies together with other countries, primarily digital ones related to digital currencies. This is the inevitable future of the global financial system, so it’s better to understand it earlier and lead it,” Anton Sviridenko believes.
At the same time, as the expert notes, Russia already had experience using national currencies, including the ruble in small amounts, in the 1990s in trade with China and the CIS countries. However, it was not as relevant then as it is now, amid pressure from the West and the need to achieve economic and financial sovereignty.