Jewelry sales sizzle in first nine months

Chinese companies above a designated size reported a 12.2 percent year-on-year increase in retail sales of gold, silver and other jewelry to 247.2 billion yuan ($34.4 billion) between January and September, a trade body said.

The growth rate, second only to the catering industry's 18.7 percent during the same period, is far higher than the average growth of total retail sales — at 6.8 percent — across China, said Ye Zhibin, president of the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China during an international jewelry summit held in Shanghai earlier this month.

This indicates bright prospects for local and international brands in the huge Chinese market, he added.

"Against a global economic slowdown and turbulent international trade environment, China's jewelry industry performed with stability, potential, resilience as well as stamina," Ye said.

The jewelry industry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has also performed well over the past several years, said Cheung King Yau, chairman of the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association.

Overall exports have recovered to the level seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the total value of precious jewelry exports reaching about 66.7 billion yuan in 2022, an 18 percent increase compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, its overall export value of jewelry from January to June this year was 39.4 billion yuan, an increase of 13.3 percent over the same period last year, Cheung said.

The excellent performance has also been reflected in international trade as the China International Import Expo, which concluded earlier this month in Shanghai, became one of the driving factors, Ye said.

"Based on data from the past few years, China has maintained a continuous deficit in international trade in jewelry for many years. It is worth noting that in recent years, the growth in Europe and the United States has significantly slowed down, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region has become more active," Ye said.

The total worth of gold, silver and jewelry products imported by China from the ASEAN region in 2022 was $5.89 billion, a year-on-year increase of 62.5 percent; while exports were worth $1.53 billion, a year-on-year increase of 90 percent, he added.

Boosted by the CIIE, countries such as Malaysia are actively promoting their jewelry products in the Chinese market. Malaysia is one of the major gold jewelry exporters in the world.

Ermin Siow, former president of the Malaysian Goldsmiths Association, said:"Our gold jewelry products are mainly exported to the Middle East and India, but we hope that we will have gold jewelry companies enter the Chinese market through the CIIE, adding more fresh elements to the Chinese market as well as the world's largest consumption market."

In addition to the increase in sales, the domestic jewelry industry is actively participating in digital transformation, Ye said.

For example, the National Gems & Jewelry Testing Co has launched its first digital service model and certificate in the industry.

"In the direction of transitioning to digitization and intelligence, we still face many challenges," Ye said. "However, from the perspective of significantly improving the overall operational efficiency of the entire industry and promoting high-quality economic growth, this is still necessary."