Russian consumers are cutting back on luxuries as the value of the ruble is dropping to record lows. Not only that; Aeroflot planes are running out of space as flights fill up with Russian tourists cutting their holidays short.
“We’ve basically lost market access to Russia,” said Peyton Enloe, managing director of Purithai Produce, which ships fresh and frozen produce to Europe, America and Russia. “My Russian customers told me people don’t have money to even buy the basics, let alone ‘exotic’ produce like mangos, durians, rambutans.”
Russia’s economy is being hammered by economic sanctions introduced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the outlook for Asia has also taken a sharply negative turn as the economic pain spreads across the globe.
Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine has disrupted the flow of goods between continents, with big shipping firms like Maersk and CMA CGM announcing they will no longer serve Russian ports. Asia’s biggest economies also depend on imported oil and gas – of which Russia is the world’s third and second-largest supplier, respectively – making them susceptible to rising energy prices.
For Thailand, southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and one of the region’s hardest-hit during the pandemic, the economic aftershocks of Russia’s invasion are being largely felt in specific sectors. While only 1 percent of Thai exports go to Russia, firms with business in the country are grappling with serious supply chain disruptions. For Enloe, an American who has worked in Thai agricultural businesses for more than a decade, flying fresh farm produce to Russia and Europe depends on speed and reliable connections.
