Thai SMEs warned of fallout from Russia-Ukraine war
Small and medium-sized enterprises should prepare to face the negative impact from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the SMEs Promotion Office saidj on Wednesday.
Veerapong Malai, director of the office, said the war has already affected the global economy and Thailand’s economy would not be able to avoid the impact because Russia is a key trading partner and a lot of Russian tourists visited the Kingdom earlier.
Veerapong said Russia also served as a gateway for Thai exporters to reach markets in Eurasia.
He advised 565 SMEs, which exported to the two countries, to prepare contingency plans to cope with the situation.
The war has already increased the costs for SMEs due to the rising prices of oil and raw materials for making animal feed, Veerapong added.
Regarding Thailand-Russia trade relations, he said Thailand has been suffering a trade deficit, Veerapong said.
In 2021, Thailand’s exports to Russia were worth US$1.028 billion. The exported goods were mostly vehicles, auto parts, rubber products, tyres, machines, electric appliances and plastic products.
Of the total value, exports by SMEs accounted for US$146.8 million, up 83.2 per cent from the previous year. Of the total 906 exporters, who exported to Russia last year, 442 were SMEs whose export products included jewellery, artificial jewellery, fresh and processed fruits and communications equipment, Veerapong said.
He said Thailand’s imports from Russia were valued at US$1.752 billion, mostly crude oil, steel, fertilizers, and aluminium.
He added that Russia was also a key tourism market for Thailand with some 1.4 million Russians visiting the Kingdom before the Covid-19 pandemic, generating an income of Bt102.89 billion.
Thailand also had a trade deficit with Ukraine, with exports of $134.8 million lagging imports of $251.7 million last year.
Export products included vehicles, auto parts, rubber products, tyres, fruit, vegetables, processed meat and fish.
Veerapong said out of 322 exporters to Ukraine, 123 SMEs accounted for US$15.1 million, a growth of 30.6 per cent year on year. The exports by SMEs included vegetables, processed fruit, rice, cereals, jewellery and artificial jewellery.
