Not a tease: Russia faces sex-toy shortage if coronavirus continues to spread

Russians may be hard-up for good vibrations unless the new Chinese coronavirus is soon taken under control. That’s according to the founder of the chain of erotic stores ‘Pink Rabbit’.

Maximilian Lapin, whose business has over 60 locations across Russia, told website Gazeta that sex shops nationwide are facing a shortage because the country’s Far Eastern border with China has been closed. A high percentage of the world’s sex toys are produced there.

According to Lapin, supplies have so far stood firm as his company doesn’t import many products directly from China. “Most are from America, Europe, and Russia,” he explained. However, the businessman added that many American and European companies produce their goods in China – and this could lead to a scarcity of naughty merchandise.

“Over time the situation may become threatening. If coronavirus causes the borders to be closed for a year, then the goods produced in China, including for Europe and the USA, will simply not be there,” he worries.

Earlier this week, the deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viktor Yevtukhov, told Izvestia that Russian companies with Chinese partners have already begun to search for alternatives, with most looking towards Korea, Turkey, Italy, and a few other Asian countries.

Other industries have already begun to make contingency plans due to a lack of supplies. In particular, Russian automobile maker KamAZ warned of a possible reduction in production from March.

Meanwhile, it’s not all doom-and-gloom, as some cunning entrepreneurs have started businesses on the back of the virus scare. One such man from Novokuznetsk offered locals the ‘service’ of unpacking parcels from AliExpress, the Chinese online retail store, at the hefty price of 700 rubles. Who says you can’t put a price on your health!