Rouble depreciation affects Vietnamese market Analysts predicted that imports from Russia will increase sharply since Russia-made and Russian-sourced products have become cheaper. Russian tourists at a Vietnamese airport.  Meanwhile, Vietnam’s travel industry has suffered from a lower number of Russian travelers. Nguyen Lan Anh, the owner of a food shop specializing in distributing Russian products, said sales have increased sharply in recent days because most Russian products are getting cheaper. “One kilo of sunflower seed is now priced at VND300,000 instead of VND340,000, while one kilo of almond chocolate is VND350,000 instead of VND390,000,” she said. Hanh is pleased about the prosperous business, saying that demand for Russian dried food would be higher from now to Tet. “The cheap rouble has made Russian products cheaper. This is really good news for Vietnamese consumers,” she said. The owner of a wine shop has also confirmed that Russian wine products have been selling very well. “The price has dropped from VND900,000 to VND750,000 per bottle,” he said. “I sold 80 wine bottles in just four to five days,” he added. “Vietnamese merchants are getting big benefits from the rouble depreciation,” Lan Anh explained. “In mid-2014, one US dollar was converted for 35 roubles only, but now we can get 80 rouble for just one dollar.” Meanwhile, the owner of the wine shop said Vietnamese businesses can make “double profits” if they buy Russian products in Russia and make payments in US dollars. “The product prices have not been adjusted in Russia yet. Therefore, you can expect a profit of 20-40 percent if buying products now. And you will make a profit once more when you sell products in Vietnam,” he said. Vietnamese now not only hunt for Russian food and essential goods, but also high-value products as watches, cameras and electronics. Both Russian and foreign-made products available in the Russian market have attracted Vietnamese. An analyst noted that a laptop in Russia can be bought at about $380. As such, if counting on service fees, a product would be priced at around VND10 million, or VND3-4 million cheaper than products of the same kinds available in the domestic market. However, while importers are happy about the rouble depreciation, travel firms are worried about the sharp fall in the number of Russian travelers. Nguyen Duc Tan, managing director of Anex Tour Vietnam, noted that the number of Russian travelers to Vietnam has decreased since late September. The travel firm expected to receive 11,500 Russian travelers a month and 120,000 Russian this year. “Previously, there were some 200 bookings a day, or about 400 travelers, but the figure has decreased by 60 percent,” he said. Chi Mai, VietNamNet Bridge