A Study of Merchandise Trade Pattern among BRICS Nations

Abstract

The term "BRIC" was coined in 2001 by then-chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O’Neill. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs. The BRICS member countries together have largely taken the form of a political organization with periodic summits and declarations on issues concerning the global economy and foreign policy. The purpose of this paper is to study the merchandise trade pattern within the BRICS member countries. The paper includes a conceptual discussion of the economic indicators of BRICS nations. To achieve the objective of the study secondary data were collected from UN COMTRADE, UNCTAD and World Bank databases for the period 2005-2015. The study found that the major share of exports of BRIS (Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa) goes to china that clearly shows the dominance of China in Intra-BRICS exports. But only a small percentage of China’s total merchandise exports went to Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. It was also found that major share of intra-BRICS imports of BRIS (Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa) comes from China during the study period that clearly shows the dominance of China in Intra-BRICS imports. But in case of China, it imports more from Russia than Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.