Chinese companies supplying consumer goods to Russia have started suspending sales on e-commerce platforms due to the ruble's collapse, reports the South China Morning Post citing industry insiders.
According to sources, the drop in the Russian currency to its lowest levels since March 2022 has alarmed Chinese entrepreneurs, especially those dealing in rubles.
China has become Russia's largest trading partner and the main supplier of consumer goods in place of Western companies that have exited. Customs data shows that $10-11 billion worth of goods from China are imported into Russia every month—double the amount before the war began. More than 50% of products on e-commerce platforms come from China, and the share of Chinese cars on the Russian auto market has reached 70%.
However, the ruble's collapse has brought "serious losses" to Chinese exporters, says Andy Guo, the founder of the business platform Waimaojia, which focuses on the Russian market.
"On one hand, the devaluation of the ruble... increases prices, weakening Russian consumers' desire to buy. On the other hand, exchange rate fluctuations 'eat up' the margins of Chinese exporters after payment," he explains.
In total, about 150,000 Chinese sellers offer their products on platforms like Ozon, Wildberries, and Yandex Market. The situation is complicated by payment issues, says an operator from one of the trading platforms in Shenzhen. According to him, his company sent goods worth hundreds of millions of yuan to Russia but hasn't received any payment from Wildberries. Another seller mentioned that the rubles earned in Russia can only be exchanged on the black market, which is risky.
Since early November, the ruble has lost about 10% against the yuan and dollar, and 7.5% against the euro. According to Reuters, this is the worst monthly result for the Russian currency in the past two years. On November 27, the dollar rate jumped above 114 rubles, the euro above 120 rubles, and the yuan on the Moscow Exchange reached 15.2 rubles. In response, the Central Bank decided to double the sale of yuan from reserves on the market to 8.4 billion rubles per day, which slightly "cooled down" the ruble. On Friday, the yuan's exchange rate fell by 1.5% to 14.5 rubles. The dollar rate dropped to 106.5 rubles, and the euro to 112.59 rubles.
