With new members admitted in 2024–25, BRICS is no longer a diplomatic talk shop. It has become a commodity superpower, controlling vast reserves of oil, gas, food, and critical minerals that keep the global economy running. The expansion from five to ten core members has created an economic bloc that dominates world production of essential materials—from the lithium in your phone to the wheat in your bread.

The Expansion

The transformation began in earnest at the 2023 Johannesburg summit, where BRICS opened its doors to new members for the first time since South Africa joined in 2010. The additions have been strategic, bringing both demographic weight and resource abundance that fundamentally alters global supply chain dynamics.

Indonesia's entry in 2025 was particularly significant, bringing the bloc's total population to 3.5 billion—nearly half of humanity. More importantly, it added the world's largest nickel reserves just as electric vehicle demand accelerates globally. The country produces over 50% of global nickel, essential for EV batteries.

Energy Dominance

The expanded BRICS bloc now represents an energy superpower that rivals traditional Western-dominated institutions. With Russia, Iran, UAE, and Brazil as major oil producers, plus China and India as the world's largest energy consumers, the group controls both supply and demand in global energy markets.

This creates a unique dynamic where major producers and consumers exist within the same bloc, potentially reducing dependence on global spot markets. Russia and Iran, facing Western sanctions, have already pivoted to serving China and India's growing energy needs. China now imports over 20% of its oil from Russia, paid for increasingly in yuan rather than dollars.

Minerals & Food

Beyond energy, BRICS+ dominance extends across critical minerals and agricultural commodities. The bloc's control over rare earth elements, essential for everything from wind turbines to smartphones, gives it leverage over global technology supply chains that Western nations are only beginning to understand.

The agricultural dimension is particularly significant. Brazil's emergence as a soybean superpower has challenged U.S. dominance in global protein markets, while Russia and India rank among the world's largest wheat producers. Combined with China's massive domestic consumption, BRICS+ countries could theoretically create closed-loop food systems that reduce dependence on traditional agricultural exporters.