Russia’s National Commodity Exchange (NAMEX) plans to launch a unified digital platform for grain trading in the country’s main export hub of Novorossiysk from January 2026, NAMEX General Director Kirill Popov told the Russian news agency Interfax. The project, described as a “unified order book,” aims to bring together the country’s largest exporters and agricultural producers in a single online marketplace where market prices for grain are formed transparently.
Popov, who took office in November, said Novorossiysk handles more than one-third of Russia’s seaborne grain shipments through its three terminals, making it the logical centre for digital price discovery. According to his comments to Interfax, the platform will function as an anonymous bilateral auction, allowing participants to see real-time prices without revealing their identities. The model is intended to increase transparency and align Russian grain trading practices more closely with international standards.
The new system will be integrated with FGIS Zerno, Russia’s state grain information system, to verify grain origin and producer status, and with Digital Logistics, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, to coordinate transportation. This linkage is expected to streamline logistics, strengthen the security of exchange transactions and support a presidential directive prioritising rail transport for exchange-traded agricultural goods.
NAMEX also plans to use the unified order book to develop a new benchmark export price — CPT Novorossiysk — which could later serve as the basis for futures contracts and support the emergence of a domestic hedging market for Russia’s agricultural sector.
Founded in 2002, NAMEX is the authorised exchange of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, facilitating trade in agricultural, meat and processed products, managing spot operations in sugar and other commodities, compiling indices and registering over-the-counter contracts. The planned Novorossiysk digital hub is intended to build on this role and provide Russia’s grain market with a more modern and transparent pricing infrastructure.