The President of the Gems and Jewelry Industry Club under the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), Mr. Veerasak Lervisit, has revealed that the Thai gems and jewelry sector is being hurt by the ongoing financial crisis in the EU. The export of the sector’s four main product groups, including diamond, gemstone, silver and gold jewelry, has been impacted since the end of 2011, given the economic slowdown in USA and EU.
Mr. Veerasak has expressed concern over the situation in the EU, which has caused last year’s overall revenues from Thai gem export to drop down to 200 billion baht.
During the first five months of 2012, gem export figure has been experiencing a gradual decline of 20% in comparison with that of the previous year. The Gems and Jewelry Industry Club has implored that the Commerce Ministry come up with assistance measures for gem exporters by finding new markets, such as South America, Africa, China and Russia, to make up for the drop in export to the USA and EU.
