Issue 27

Relations between Russia and Thailand have been long-standing and cordial. The Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce is there to further promote trade between the two countries.

Originally a Thai-Russian Trade Association that started with a few solitary members, the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce (TRCC) has evolved into a fully-fledged chamber of commerce that includes both Thai and Russian businesses.

As part of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, members of the TRCC can gain access to “information about various fields of businesses,” explains Chusak Direkwattanachai, former President of the TRCC, adding that the chamber also provides consultation services for members wishing to do business with Russia.

However, the TRCC’s main role is to promote trade between Russia and Thailand. It works closely with the Russian Federation’s Embassy to organise seminars and networking events where the Russian Ambassador shares information on trade representations by the Russian Federation.
Despite acknowledging that “it’s not easy to do business in Russia,” Dr. Sombat Thiratrakoolchai, current president of the TRCC, argues that there is still “great potential not only now but in the future”.

“We have plans to increase the amount of trade or investment which was about US$4 billion last year and this year, but could be US$10 billion in the next few years,” he says. Citing a recent visit by Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Valentinovich Manturov to Thailand in January this year, Thiratrakoolchai says that, “Russia was considering buying eighty-thousand tonnes of Thai rubber [as] the price of Thai rubber was low at the moment.”
Thailand and Russia have complimentary resources, according to another former president of the TRCC. “Thailand is rich in food, while Russia is rich in natural resources that we [Thailand] need such as oil, gas, copper and iron,” says Phisak Nivataphand.

In order to further promote both trade and dialogue between the two countries, Direkwattanachai says Thailand and Russia are currently looking at “a shipping route from the eastern area of Russia, which takes only 12 days to come to Thailand to the Gulf of Siam.” This would mean that “goods could then be loaded to the Trans-Siberian train to go through Russia and to the west of St Petersburg,” he says.

Although Thiratrakoolchai admits that 2015 was, “going to be a little tough for Russia due to the lower price of oil and gas,” nevertheless he was sure that the country’s economy would bounce back quickly. One area that might be affected from the Russian economic downturn was tourism. “Russian tourists will be less than last year,” says Direkwattanachai.

In 2014, 1.3 million Russian tourists visited Thailand, according to Nivataphand, who believed that the traditional popularity of Thailand as a tourist destination for Russians “presented a good opportunity for businesses such as food and services like massages to be brought to Russia.”

Words by: Yvonne Liang