Singaporeans snap up cheap Russian goods as Ukraine war anger ebbs

Visitors to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Singapore Lazada and Redmart sites can find several products originating from Russia, including 120 gram jars of salmon roe for S$11 (US$8) as well as 460ml bottles of hair conditioner for S$2.49.

On other Singapore grocery sites, similarly sized jars of roe range between S$15.90 to S$44. On Shopee, a subsidiary of Sea Ltd., the online shelves are stocked with bargain made-in-Russia waffle cakes and hazelnut milk chocolates.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

While several nations have import prohibitions on goods that have originated from Russia, Singapore’s sanctions are limited to fundraising activities that benefit the Russian government and exports from the city state that could directly contribute to the war effort. There isn’t any prohibition against selling Russian groceries on the island and globally there are no sanctions on Russian exports of food.

Representatives for Lazada and Shopee did not respond to requests for comment.

Globally, more than 1,000 multinational companies have publicly announced they’re voluntarily pulling away from Russia beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions, according to the Yale School of Management.

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“Singaporeans may be against the Russian invasion of Ukraine but they’re not against Russian goods,” Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. “In Singapore, trade is our lifeblood. We trade with every country whether we like them or not.”

Sovan Patra, a senior lecturer at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences, agreed that Singaporeans’ pragmatism is likely resulting in a distinction