Metamorphoses in trade complementarities among BRICS and their export positions

The article contributes to better understanding of how much intra BRICS’s trade complementarity may extend export growth opportunities. The nature of BRICS countries complementarity is derived from global value added chains, which, in turn, are driven by growing technological content of export. The estimations made for enlarged blocks of variables of extensive export growth among BRICS have revealed that China leverages intra BRICS trade insofar it may complement its export. Brazil and Russia do it in order to substitute weak external demand. For Russia and South Africa estimations have proved extreme influence of external markets and their sentiments. Decomposition of variables to the most competitive and complementary HS subpositions of trade among BRICS (they are mineral fuel, ores and precious metal and stones, electrical, electronic equipment) help reveal that world demand and BRICS demand influence BRICS’s export divergently. But their statistically insignificant regression coefficients confirm the hypothesis that BRICS’s bilateral export markets are shallow and vulnerable. So, to enrich intra BRICS trade they need broaden trade flows widening their product mix and deepening technological content.