Russia-Ukraine conflict will hurt Thailand’s exports, tourism, Arkhom fears
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on Thursday expressed concern that Thailand’s exports and tourism would be affected by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
He said if the conflict escalates into a full-scale war, it could also affect global oil prices, consequently impacting the Thai government’s efforts to fix diesel oil price at not higher than Bt30 per litre.
Western media reported that Russia on Thursday had launched a multipronged attack against Ukraine. They said the assault followed an announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia has started a military operation for the “demilitarisation ad denazification” of eastern Ukraine.
Arkhom said the Energy Minister and the Oil Fuel Fund could manage to retain diesel oil price at Bt30 per litre when the current global oil prices were about $90 to $100 per barrel. But if the crisis escalates, global oil prices would rise because Russia is a major oil exporter to Europe.
The finance minister said Thailand would have to monitor the global oil price situation closely.
Arkhom said both Russia and Ukraine are Thailand’s key trading partners and a lot of tourists from the two countries visit Thailand. As a result, if the conflicts worsen, Thailand’s exports and tourism would be affected, the minister added.
